Pokemon Coco Movie Postponed Due to COVID-19

Pokemon had big plans for theaters this summer, but it turns out the franchise's next film is getting delayed indefinitely. The announcement about Pokemon Coco's postponement went live earlier this week from its team. The Pokemon Company posted an official message for fans online confirming the movie's release is being pushed due to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. The pandemic has forced a great many films to delay their release, and not even Pikachu is powerful enough to push through the pandemic when the health of movie goers is on the line.

Over on the official Pokemon website, the company announced the upcoming anime feature has been postponed. "We have decided to postpone the theatrical releasee of the movie Pokemon Coco due to the coronavirus outbreak. We apologize to those who were looking forward to it. We will inform you about the release date once it's decided. We hope you understand," the new statement reads (via Chronicles).

For those who do not know, Pokemon Coco was expected to hit theaters in Japan on July 10. The franchise often targets early July for a film release, but this year is far from normal. Months ago, reports began to surface from China about a novel coronavirus which was seen as more contagious and severe than the seasonal flu. By early 2020, the virus has made its way to the U.S. and dozens of other countries which then prompted a series of unprecedented quarantines around the globe.

So far, there is no word on when Pokemon Coco will debut or when movie theaters will get back to work even. Hollywood has plans to release films theatrically later this year, but that goal is all dependent on how well COVID-19 is contained. And as Japan continues to lockdown nonessential workers, it may be awhile before Pokemon Coco hits the big screen.

This delay will come as a bummer for fans overseas, but you can catch up on the anime's current roster of features for free. If you head to the official Pokemon website, you will find that most of Pokemon's movies are available to stream no charge. And should the TV show be more your speed, you can check out past episodes on Netflix now before the brand's next series pops up this June.

Did you expect this delay...? Or did you think Pokemon would have been safe by the summer? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!