Summary
- A new Detective Pikachu movie is rumored to be titled The Great Detective Pikachu.
- A possible Detective Pikachu sequel has been in development since 2021 with director Jordan Vogt-Roberts attached.
- The first Detective Pikachu was a box-office success, hinting at the potential for a sequel.
The recent Pokémon leak revealed lots of clues about upcoming games in the franchise, but it also hinted at the future of the Detective Pikachu movies. The live-action Detective Pikachu film was considered a success, but a sequel never eventuated.
Detective Pikachu was released in 2019 by Shark Tale director Rob Letterman. Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool & Wolverine) starred in the film as the voice of Pikachu, with Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves cast member Justice Smith in the role of his human companion, Tim Goodman. The film takes place in the fictional Ryme City, where humans and Pokèmon co-exist peacefully. The plot of the movie saw Tim and Detective Pikachu team up to investigate the death of Tim’s father, Harry, a Ryme City police officer. Detective Pikachu didn’t receive the most positive reviews, but it did earn $450 million at the box office and held the record for the highest-grossing video game movie for a time until it was dethroned by 2023’s Super Mario Bros. Movie.
Why Can Detective Pikachu Talk?
Now that Detective Pikachu has hit theaters worldwide, we no longer have to wonder why the film's titular Detective Pikachu is able to talk, whereas other Pokemon can't.
Pokémon Leak May Have Revealed Detective Pikachu 2's Title
Earlier in October, Pokémon game developer Game Freak confirmed a hack had resulted in large amounts of its confidential data leaking. While most of the leak contained information about upcoming games, it also seemingly revealed the title of a new Detective Pikachu movie. As pointed out by ComicBook.com, the movie will allegedly be titled The Great Detective Pikachu and is said to have been in development since 2021. The project had seemingly attached Jordan Vogt-Roberts, director of Kong: Skull Island and You’re the Worst. Plot details for the film were also allegedly included in the hack, but it’s unclear if this iteration of the film is still in development or if it was re-worked at some point over the past four years. Vogt-Roberts has since been attached to direct the Metal Gear Solid and Gundam adaptations, meaning his slate might already be too full to also cram in Detective Pikachu 2.
The last official update the Detective Pikachu sequel received was in 2023, when Deadline reported that Portlandia co-creator Jonathan Krisel was in negotiations to direct the next Pokémon film, with Chris Galletta writing the script. Therefore, it does appear like the latest Pokémon leak may have been referring to an older version of the Detective Pikachu sequel. Furthermore, star Justice Smith told Screen Rant that he had “not heard of any movement” on another Detective Pikachu movie, indicating things may have stalled in development once more. This wouldn’t be surprising given the impact of the Writer’s Guild strike in Hollywood last year, which held up many projects in the development pipeline.
It would be surprising if another Detective Pikachu movie doesn’t end up moving forward. The first movie was popular with fans and performed well at the box office. The Pokémon franchise has also been consistently popular and the most recent Detective Pikachu game (Detective Pikachu Returns) was a bestseller in Japan. This suggests there is an appetite for more from the Detective Pikachu world and, if anything, the Detective Pikachu 2 reference in the Pokemon leak at least indicates there has been movement on the sequel in the past few years. It may just need the right creative pieces to fall into place before it can move forward.
Detective Pikachu
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- May 10, 2019
- Runtime
- 104 minutes
- Director
- Rob Letterman
Oddly enough and yet so fitting, Ryan Reynolds is the voice of Pikachu here in 2019's Detective Pikachu, with Justice Smith as Tim Goodman. Set in a world where humans and Pokémon coexist, the film follows the pair as they team up to solve the mysterious disappearance of Tim's father, unraveling a captivating blend of mystery, humor, and heartfelt moments. Available here in Blu-ray, you can also grab the 4K UHD + version.
Here's Why the Detective Pikachu Movie Almost Cut Mr. Mime
Detective Pikachu director Rob Letterman reveals why the psychic-type Pokemon Mr. Mime was almost cut entirely from the upcoming Detective Pikachu movie.