Justice Smith will play the lead in the first live-action Pokemon movie Detective Pikachu, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Directed by Rob Letterman (Shark Tale, Goosebumps). and produced by Legendary Entertainment, the film will chronicle the story of the mystery-solving titular character.
Apart from 20 animation films and a television series, the Pokemon franchise also consists of card games and video games. Legendary had acquired rights to the Japanese franchise in July 2016 after the success of the mobile game Pokemon Go.
It is not yet clear if the film will follow the same narrative as the Nintendo game Great Detective Pikachu, which features a talking Pikachu who partners with a human to assist other Pokemon in need. Smith is the first cast member named for the upcoming film. The Get Down actor will be seen next in Universal’s Jurassic World sequel, featuring Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard.
Detective Pikachu will be reportedly be distributed by longtime collaborator Toho in Japan, and Universal Pictures in other territories.