Originally published April 16, 2016. Updated April 15, 2018.
As the franchise celebrates its 20th anniversary, it looks like a live-action Pokemon movie might be about to become a reality, with THR revealing that a bidding war is underway over the rights.
The site reports The Pokemon Co. has been courting Hollywood studios and a top secret auction is taking place for the rights to the franchise, with Legendary Entertainment, Warner Bros. and Sony all in the mix. Legendary is said to be the frontrunner, although the fact that the studio is owned by the Chinese corporation Dalian Wanda Group could cause some issues, given the long-standing political tension between China and Japan.
Pokemon began its life in 1996 with the release of two Game Boy games, and it quickly blossomed into a media franchise encompassing video games, trading cards, anime series and animated features. It is the second-bestselling video game series behind Nintendo’s Mario, and has grossed over $40 billion in sales across its various products.
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