The first trailer for Rob Letterman’s upcoming live-action drama Pokemon: Detective Pikachu was released on Monday. The film stars Ryan Reynolds as the voice of Pikachu alongside Justice Smith, Kathryn Newton, Rita Ora, Ken Watanabe, Bill Nighy and Suki Waterhouse.
Set in Ryme City, where humans and Pokemon live in harmony, the trailer introduces us to Tim (Smith), a young man who once wanted to become a Pokemon trainer. “Yeah, that didn’t really work out,” Tim says, when reminded of his ambition.
Serendipitously, Tim is given a chance to fulfil his childhood dream when he finds that Pikachu, the most beloved Pokemon, is hiding in his apartment and is desperate to become his apprentice. But with his father having gone missing, Tim has more pressing concerns. “I don’t need a Pokemon,” he tells Pikachu. “Then what about a world class detective?”asks Reynold’s Pikachu. “If you want to find your pops, I’m your best bet.”
Co-produced by Warner Bros Pictures, Legendary Entertainment and The Pokémon Company, Detective Pikachu will be released on May 10, 2019. The film is based on a video game of the same name.
This is the first live-action movie in the Pokemon universe, which consists of several animation films, a television series and numerous card games and video games. The Japanese media franchise, centred on fictional creatures that humans can catch and train, sprang from the success of Pokemon video games created by Satoshi Tajiri for Nintendo in 1996.
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