'Detective Pikachu' Movie Will Likely Get New Release Date

The Detective Pikachu movie will likely have its release date move after Legendary switched which studio will distribute the film.

The Hollywood Reporter broke the news earlier today that the live-action Pokemon movie will be distributed by Warner Bros. instead of Universal, a sign that Legendary and Warner Bros could be resurrecting its old business relationship. As part of the move, Warner Bros. will also take a financial stake in that movie.

While the move signals a big shift for those following the business of Hollywood, it's also important in that Detective Pikachu will likely have its release date changed to better fit in Warner Bros. schedule. The movie was supposed to be released on May 10th, but that would make it part of an already jam-packed spring schedule that includes Shazam!, Minecraft, and Godzilla: King of the Monsters.

Warner Bros and Legendary had a successful business relationship that resulted in Legendary financing movies like The Dark Knight and Man of Steel, but it ended in 2013. Since then, Legendary's primary distributor has been Universal, a partnership that hasn't been quite as successful for either company.

Interestingly, Warner Bros. previously made a bid on the live-action movie rights for the Pokemon franchise back in 2016, a contest that Legendary Pictures ultimately won. Legendary then announced that their first Pokemon movie would be Detective Pikachu, which will star Ryan Reynolds as a talking Pikachu who teams up with a teenager to solve a series of connected crimes. The movie is based on a Nintendo 3DS game that had an active internet fanbase due to its inventive story and lovable lead character.

Justice Smith (Jurassic Park: Hidden Kingdom) will play Pikachu's partner, a young man whose father is kidnapped. Kathryn Newton (Big Little Lies) plays a junior reporter who assists the pair on the case. Ken Watanabe, Bill Nighy, Suki Waterhouse, Rita Ora and Chris Geere are also set to appear in the film. Filming began in January 2018 in London.

Rob Letterman (Goosebumps) will direct the movie with a script written by Nicole Perlman (Guardians of the Galaxy) and Alex Hirsch (Gravity Falls). The Pokemon Company's Tsunekazu Ishihara and Joe Caracciolo Jr. (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales) serve as executive producers, while Mary Parent and Cale Boyter from Legendary serve as producers. Visual effects for the film (which likely include CGI versions of Pokemon) will be provided by Moving Picture Company (Wonder Woman) and Framestore (Paddington 2).