Detective Pikachu Movie Allegedly Wants Big Stars for Lead Role

The upcoming live action Pokemon movie is allegedly looking at some big stars to voice its lead role.

A report from That Hashtag Show claims that Dwayne Johnson, Hugh Jackman, Mark Wahlberg, and Ryan Reynolds are all being eyed to play the star of Detective Pikachu, a gruff Pikachu whose trainer can understand him.

In addition to being major action stars, Johnson, Jackman, and Reynolds all have previous voice acting experience. Johnson voiced the demi-god Maui in Disney's Moana last year. Jackman played the Easter Bunny in Rise of the Guardians, and Reynolds had roles in Turbo and The Croods. Wahlberg is the only one of the four who doesn't have prior voice acting experience, but the prospect of a Pikachu with a thick Boston accent has a certain appeal.

However, while movie producers for Detective Pikachu are supposedly interested in the four actors for the lead role, none have taken any meetings about the role.

Notably absent from the list is Danny DeVito, who was the subject of a fan campaign when the Detective Pikachu video game came out in 2016. While fans wanted DeVito to voice Detective Pikachu in an English release of the game, the Pokemon Company has yet to release it outside of Japan.

A second report has also uncovered alleged details about the movie's two human leads. Omega Underground found alleged audition tapes for "Tim" and "Lucy" that may have revealed the basic plot of the movie. The male lead "Tim" is searching for his missing father with the help of Detective Pikachu, while "Lucy" is a young investigative reporter looking into incidents in which Pokemon suddenly go feral and attack their trainers. Lucy's partner Pokemon is a Psyduck, which seems like an unusual choice, but one ripe with comedic potential.

The Detective Pikachu movie is set to begin filming in January 2018, so we should know more about the first ever live action Pokemon movie by then.