Originally published December 1, 2016. Updated April 16, 2018.
Legendary Entertainment’s first live-action Pokémon movie, Detective Pikachu, has just found its director in Shark Tale and Monsters vs. Aliens helmer Rob Letterman.
Alex Hirsch (Gravity Falls) and Nicole Perlman (Wonder Woman) are on board to pen the screenplay for the project. Universal Pictures will distribute the film in all territories outside of Japan, while Toho will handle distribution in Japan.
The studio purchased the rights to the Detective Pikachu character from this February’s Great Detective Pikachu video game in July, which is when Niantic’s Pokémon GO app was at the height of its popularity and made headlines for its use of augmented reality technology to make it appear as if Pokémon were popping up in random environments all over the world.
Detective Pikachu will center around “a new character and storyline in the Pokémon universe.” As a reference of what to expect from the movie, the trailer for Great Detective Pikachu for the 3DS is down below…
Last year, Letterman earned mostly positive reviews from critics and fans for his work on Goosebumps, another adaption of a beloved kid-friendly franchise. The director’s filmography is largely comprised of films that were met with lukewarm reception and mediocre box office results, but perhaps the success of Goosebumps makes him a good fit for Detective Pikachu.
Source: Deadline
