'Detective Pikachu' Director Teases Film's Pokemon Lineup

Years ago, the idea of a live-action Pokemon movie was little more than a fantasy, but that has all changed. The Pokemon Company has teamed up with Legendary for its first live-action adaptation, and it seems a ton of favorite pocket monsters will be seen in Detective Pikachu.

However, it doesn't look like the film was able to really feature 'em all.

Recently, Rob Letterman spoke with IGN about the film's big Pokemon roster at the 2018 Pokemon World Championships. The director told the site a lot went into deciding which Pokemon would be brought into Detective Pikachu.

"There was a long process, before [Justice Smith and Kathryn Newton] were even involved, of working closely with The Pokemon Company, with Game Freak, with [The Pokemon Company president] Ishihara-san, [Pokemon illustrator] Sugimori-san, and the whole team. Of going through every single Pokemon, different evolutions, and really narrowing down not only the favorites - which, we tried to do as many of those as possible," Letterman explained.

Continuing, the director said the entire creative team also had to consider which pocket monsters could be brought to life best through visual effects.

"[We had to choose] what worked in the story, and from the visual effects teams' point of view, what would actually work really well for a live-action movie. Because you do have to remember, the movie is live-action, it's not animated. We're using some of the best visual effects companies in the world to bring the characters to life. So it was a combination of all those things," Letterman added.

So far, only a handful of Pokemon have been confirmed to appear in Detective Pikachu. Obviously, Pikachu will appear as the character is the film's titular lead, but Letterman let it drop that Charizard will star in the feature as well. In the original Detective Pikachu story, scores of other pocket monsters like Apiom, Glalie, Gengar, Mewtwo, and more pop up along the way.

As for how the Pokemon will appear on-screen, Letterman revealed the feature is taking a hyper-realistic approach to the famed anime creatures. The director said Detective Pikachu will stray from the show's animated take and make its Pokemon more lifelike. In fact, Letterman said Detective Pikachu is working to create its monsters with the folks who brought Guardians of the Galaxy's Rocket Raccoon to life. So, if Zigzagoon appears in the movie, don't be surprised if he's packing!

Which Pokemon do you want this film to showcase the most? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!