After its initial announcement in July 2016, the live-action "Detective Pikachu" film recently acquired its director. It was revealed that Rob Letterman will be leading "Detective Pikachu" for Legendary Pictures.
'Detective Pikachu' Production Fast-Tracked to 2017
The Hollywood Reporter stated that "Pikachu Detective" is set to begin production in 2017, after Legendary Pictures fast-tracked the project. Legendary and The Pokemon Company will make the movie, written by Nicole Perlman and Alex Hirsch.
"Pikachu Detective" is intended to be the first in a potential franchise, focusing on Detective Pikachu, a new character and plot in the Pokemon universe. SlashFilm wrote that Detective Pikachu is different from the classic Pikachu that fans of the franchise have come to know through the years.
The character was first seen in the game, "Great Detective Pikachu," which launched earlier in 2016. Detective Pikachu is less talented than other Pikachu in doing various Pokemon activities, but is especially good at solving crime.
In "Pikachu Detective", Detective Pikachu travels with a boy named Tim Goodman. It is still uncertain whether Detective Pikachu will be investigating with the same character in the new movie.
The Director's Background
Letterman has the background and vision to helm "Pikachu Detective." The director has worked in both live-action and animation with his previous projects like "Goosebumps," "Shark Tale" and "Monsters vs. Aliens." Letterman is represented by WME.
Universal Pictures will serve as Legendary's distribution partner, and will launch "Pikachu Detective" outside Japan. Toho, The Pokemon Company's movie partner in the past several years, will distribute "Detective Pikachu" in Japan.
Pokemon was first introduced in Japan in 1996, and has sold over 279 million video games around the world. The Pokemon Trading Card Game has shipped 21.5 billion cards to 74 countries, while the Pokemon animated series has been running for 20 seasons.
The first Pokemon video game for Game Boy launched in 1996, while the first film released in 1998. 19 films based on Pokemon have been launched since, with "Detective Pikachu" slated to be the newest entry.