A couple years ago (2019), a video game movie came out starring Ryan Reynolds as the very famous Pokémon Pikachu. For some reason, Pikachu was a detective in the movie, and despite that really weird premise, Detective Pikachu made an insane amount of money. Then we all forgot about it. That’s about to change, because a sequel is finally on the way.
Jonathan Krisel, one of the creators of Portlandia, is currently in talks to direct the live-action sequel, and Chris Galletta (The Kings of Summer) has been tasked with penning the screenplay. Reynolds hasn’t been confirmed just yet to reprise his role as the loveable Pokémon, per Deadline, but he probably will.
Making the movie is a no-brainer considering Pokémon is a ridiculously profitable and well-known franchise with a rabid, built-in audience. There are trading cards, TV shows, merchandise, a mobile game, and of course, a video game franchise that pumps out sequels every few years.
The 2019 film made over $430 million globally on a budget of $150 million. In addition to Reynolds, it starred Kathryn Newton, Suki Waterhouse, Ken Watanabe, and Bill Nighy. In addition to Portlandia, Krisel co-created the show Baskets with Zach Galifianakis, which starred the late Louie Anderson and won him an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in A Comedy Series in 2016.
This announcement comes alongside another exciting Pokémon bit of news: Netflix recently announced it was working on a stop-motion animated show called Pokémon Concierge, a “new collaboration between Pokémon and Netflix featuring stop-motion animation by dwarf studio. Follow Haru, a worker at the Pokémon Resort, and Psyduck as they meet Pokémon and Trainers on vacation!”
There’s no release date just yet for either project but we’ll keep you posted.
