Deadpool’s Ryan Reynolds banks on another cartoon character with Pokemon film Detective Pikachu
Live-action film about detective who helps a boy find his father within a world of mighty Pokemon beasts has built-in global fan appeal and could deliver Reynolds a second major franchise adapted from popular graphic characters
Ryan Reynolds could well end up with a second major film franchise adapted from popular graphic characters.
The Deadpool star has signed on to top-line the live-action Detective Pikachu and will begin shooting next month, the Hollywood Reporter first reported.
The Legendary film, based on the video game-sprung multimedia juggernaut, already has director Rob Letterman ( Goosebumps ) and actors Justice Smith (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom) and Kathryn Newton (Lady Bird) in place, with Alex Hirsch (Gravity Falls) and Nicole Perlman (Guardians of the Galaxy) handling the script.
Reynolds will play the titular detective who helps a boy find his father within a world of mighty Pokemon beasts. The film has a built-in global fan appeal, with Pokemon games having sold in the hundreds of millions and an animated series spanning two decades.
The move shows Reynolds’ continued faith in projects based on bright visual characters. He began the decade with the infamous Green Lantern and the animated The Croods, right after 2009’s misguided X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
Now he’s got a Deadpool sequel due out next June, an X-Force film announced – and even The Croods 2 slated for 2020.
The casting rings as positive news, except among those fans who had campaigned for Danny DeVito to land the role – even though he had little interest and even less knowledge of Pokemon.
