It has been revealed that Ryan Reynolds of Deadpool fame has been cast as the titular character in Detective Pikachu, which will be the first live-action Pokemon movie to be ever made. The casting should come as welcome news to interested individuals, seeing as how the people behind the project have been careful to keep such information under wraps for the most part.
What Is Detective Pikachu?
For those who are unfamiliar with the upcoming movie, it is based on a video game of the same name, which was a spinoff of the main Pokemon games. In main Pokemon games, the focus is on capturing and training Pokemon to compete in fighting tournaments. However, Detective Pikachu stood out in that it was focused on the partnership between a human boy and a pikachu with an investigative frame of mind, who was not as powerful as most of his peers but made up for it with his increased brainpower. As a result, it should come as no surprise to learn that Detective Pikachu focused on the two teaming up to solve Pokemon-related mysteries.
Likewise, what has been revealed about the upcoming movie suggests that it will be similar but not quite the same. In short, Reynolds will be providing the voice for Detective Pikachu as well as playing the character, which will be made possible through motion-capture. Meanwhile, Justice Smith from the upcoming Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom will be playing the human lead, who teams up with Detective Pikachu when his father gets kidnapped. Other characters have been cast as well, with an excellent example being Kathryn Newton who will be playing a journalist who will lend the duo a helping hand in their efforts to find the kidnapped father. Based on these pieces of information, it seems that the movie version of Detective Pikachu might be aimed at a somewhat older audience than the video game, which could help it secure a wider audience than otherwise possible.
How Might Detective Pikachu Affect the Pokemon Franchise?
It seems probable that Detective Pikachu has the potential to affect the Pokemon franchise as a whole through various ways. For example, it is a significant departure from what most people would have expected from a live-action Pokemon movie, meaning that if it manages to become successful, it could carve out a market for Pokemon movies that are focused on other genres. Something that could spread to the rest of the Pokemon franchise should it prove to be successful enough.
Furthermore, while there is no fighting-oriented live-action Pokemon movie under development at the moment, it seems probable that it will come at some point should Detective Pikachu prove to be successful enough. Much of the work done on this Pokemon movie will likely be transferable to that hypothetical Pokemon movie, thus providing it with a better chance of looking as it should through the simple accumulation of experience. With that said, it is still much too soon to put too much thought into what Detective Pikachu will mean as well as how it will turn out. Instead, it is best to wait for more information to be released, which is bound to happen as progress continues to be made.
