'Detective Pikachu' Producer Reveals How Danny DeVito Helped Shape Pikachu

Detective Pikachu stands to become one of the year's top films, and it is all thanks to the power of Pokemon. In a couple months, Hollywood will embrace the franchise at long last, and it turns out a familiar actor was once considered to tackle the role of Pikachu.

Clearly, Ryan Reynolds won the war, but Danny DeVito did put up a fight... Well, sort of.

Recently, Nerdist released an interview it did on the set of Detective Pikachu with visual effects producer Greg Baxter. It was there DeVito was mentioned, and the staffer said his team did toy with the idea of having the beloved star voice Pikachu.

"Yeah, we threw some of his ... Always Sunny in Philadelphia ... in as well," Baxter admitted.

"I mean, we really tried a range of actors. Different pitches, different sounds of voice, different ... big, small, everywhere in between. And really, once you put a voice to an animated character, something just amazing happens, not what you expect. But once Ryan went in, it was kind of game over. That was amazing."

Of course, fans are rather interested to hear that DeVito was considered by the Detective Pikachu team. The actor was a fan-favorite pick for the role given his gruff voice. While the role was given to Reynolds in the end, DeVito has continued to gain support within the Pokemon fandom for all things live-action. So, as Legendary Studios expands its big-screen take on Pokemon, here's to hoping DeVito can snag himself a role with the likes of, say, Meowth?

So, do you think DeVito should voice a Pokemon some day down the line? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!

Directed by Rob Letterman, and co-written by Nicole Perlman, Pokemon: Detective Pikachu is scheduled for a release on May 10. The official synopsis for Pokemon: Detective Pikachu reads as such:

"The story begins when ace detective Harry Goodman goes mysteriously missing, prompting his 21-year-old son Tim to find out what happened. Aiding in the investigation is Harry's former Pokémon partner, Detective Pikachu: a hilariously wise-cracking, adorable super-sleuth who is a puzzlement even to himself. Finding that they are uniquely equipped to communicate with one another, Tim and Pikachu join forces on a thrilling adventure to unravel the tangled mystery.

Chasing clues together through the neon-lit streets of Ryme City—a sprawling, modern metropolis where humans and Pokémon live side by side in a hyper-realistic live-action world—they encounter a diverse cast of Pokémon characters and uncover a shocking plot that could destroy this peaceful co-existence and threaten the whole Pokémon universe."