After over two decades as an immensely successful multimedia franchise, a live-action Pokemon movie is finally happening. You may be familiar with Pokemon, be it through the mobile game phenomenon Pokemon Go, the long-running video game series, or the card game that was all the rage in the ’90s (shoutouts to everyone who never got that holographic Charizard). Odds are, you’re familiar with Pokemon in some way, shape, or form. You don’t get a Pikachu float in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade if people are gonna respond to it with, “What’s that yellow rat thing?”
Variety has reported today that Legendary Entertainment has secured the film rights to the franchise, after recent rumors they were trying to close the deal. While details are currently being kept fairly quiet, it’s rumored that the studio will be fast-tracking the film’s development, hoping to have production started in 2017.
While there have been several animated films featuring franchise characters over the years, this will be the series’ first live-action entry. Perhaps the most surprising news is that the film will not focus on longtime animated series protagonist Ash Ketchum from the animated series and will instead focus on a character called Detective Pikachu. There aren’t many details beyond that, but there’s a good chance it’s connected to the star of another recent Pokemon game. Regardless of whether or not the two are related, a betting man would likely wager that this movie will feature a Pikachu who does some sort of detective work.
While Pokemon has never truly lost its luster — the announcement of two new additions to the video game franchise, Sun and Moon, made waves earlier this year — Legendary is clearly picking the right time to do this. Thanks to Pokemon Go, the franchise’s popularity is at its highest in years. If there’s ever been a time to move forward with the first ever live action Pokemon movie, even if it stars Detective Pikachu, now is the time to do it.
(Via Variety)