It sounded weird when we first heard about it and, yep, it still looks pretty weird now that we’ve seen the trailer.
Great Detective Pikachu is a spin-off game from the main Nintendo Pokémon franchise, casting Pikachu as a crime-fighting super sleuth instead of just a cute sidekick. Crucially, he also talked for the first time – saying actual words instead of just squeaking his own name over and over again.
The weird bit came when Warner Bros. announced plans to release a live-action CG hybrid movie adaption of the game – and cast Ryan Reynolds as the voice of Pikachu.
Now the film has its first trailer and it looks suitably bonkers – with Reynolds’ yellow furry detective leading us through a neon-lit underworld populated with humans and other Pokemon, looking like a cross between Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and a family-friendly Blade Runner.
Set in the Pokémon universe, the film follows Tim Goodman (Justice Smith) as he hunts for his missing father in Ryme City. Tim’s dad was a famous detective, and his old ex-partner, err… Pikachu, teams up with Tim to solve the crime. Tim is also the only human who can understand Pikachu, and everyone else just thinks he’s a weird little yellow thing who keeps saying his own name.
Kathryn Newton, Ken Watanabe, Suki Waterhouse, Rita Ora (yup) and Bill Nighy all costar – with Pokemon regular Ikue Ōtani providing Pikachu’s trademark squeaking whenever Reynolds isn’t quipping in English. Rob Letterman (Monsters Vs Aliens, Goosebumps) directs and the film is already in post-production, heading for release on the 10th of May, 2019.
Check out the film’s first neo-noir poster below.
