Detective Pikachu Movie Finds Its Director

Detective Pikachu has found its director. Deadline reports that Rob Letterman, the director of animated films like Shark Tale and Monsters vs. Aliens as well as last year's live action Goosebumps film, will direct the upcoming live action Pokemon feature. Legendary Entertainment announced the movie last summer at the height of the Pokemon Go craze, but few details have been announced since.

Detective Pikachu is a spinoff franchise of the main Pokemon games. The title character is a grumpy Pikachu who can talk to humans. When he's not drinking coffee or yelling at his teen sidekick, Detective Pikachu solves mysteries in a world inhabited by both Pokemon and humans. No actors are currently attached to the project, although fans have campaigned for actor Danny DeVito to voice Pikachu in the film.

Alex Hirsch (creator of Gravity Falls) and Guardians of the Galaxy co-writer Nicole Perlman are writing the script for the film. Toho Studios (of Godzilla fame) will distribute the film in Japan, while Universal will distribute the movie in the United States.

Although fans have clamored for a live action Pokemon franchise for years, the Pokemon Company has been notoriously stingy with the rights. Several animated movies released at the height of the first Pokemon craze performed well in box offices, but rights for a live action movie went unclaimed until this summer, when Pokemon Go reignited interest in the franchise.

(via Deadline)