Pokémon: Detective Pikachu 2 receives a surprisingly positive update from Legendary Entertainment. The first live-action Pokémon movie ever, Detective Pikachu follows Justice Smith as an aspiring trainer who teams up with the eponymous electric-powered investigator (voiced by Ryan Reynolds) to solve the mystery of his missing father. Months before the film’s release in 2019, Legendary was already developing a sequel with 22 Jump Street‘s Oren Uziel writing the script. However, there haven’t been any substantial updates since then.
Now, Pokémon: Detective Pikachu 2 has received a surprisingly promising update. According to a representative for Legendary Entertainment (via Polygon), the project is still “in active development.” Representatives for Uziel stated he is no longer involved, though he did write a screenplay. However, Legendary remained mum on who is currently working on Pokémon: Detective Pikachu 2.
This Detective Pikachu 2 Update Is Promising, But Is No Guarantee
This Pokémon: Detective Pikachu 2 update is promising, though it is also not a guarantee that the sequel will actually get made, as projects stall out while in development all the time. While Detective Pikachu star Smith has said he would love to participate in the project, he was not optimistic about the sequel’s chances the last time he commented on it publicly in 2021. Perhaps Smith’s outlook has changed in light of this recent update.
Uziel, whose video game adaptation chops extend to Sonic the Hedgehog, wrote an outline and a first draft for Detective Pikachu 2, but with him no longer involved, it’s unclear who is actively working on bringing the sequel to life. Pokémon: Detective Pikachu writers Dan Hernandez and Benji Samit say they aren’t involved either, though they would like to be. The first film was developed by several other collaborators, such as Jurassic World‘s Derek Connolly and the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Nicole Perlman, who could be brought back for the sequel.
Pokémon: Detective Pikachu was both a critical and commercial success, receiving praise for Reynolds’ performance and its visual effects, while grossing $433 million at the box office on a $150 million budget. Therefore, it seems like a no-brainer for Warner Bros. and Legendary to give the Rob Letterman-directed movie a bigger and more action-packed sequel, though Detective Pikachu 2 appears to have hit some roadblocks in development, possibly related to Legendary’s new distribution deal with Sony, which end its long-standing partnership with WB. While the recent Pokémon: Detective Pikachu 2 update is promising, it’s still unclear what the future holds for this live-action corner of the Pokémon franchise.
Source: Polygon