Still in throes of Pokémon Go ecstasy? Here’s some great news that will have Pokéfans frothing at the Pokéballs.
Film company Legendary has announced that a new live-action Pokémon film franchise will enter production as soon as 2017, hot off the heels of the Pokémon Go video game craze. Legendary just acquired the film rights to the Japanese property in a new deal with The Pokémon Co., the Hollywood Reporter reports.
Details of the plot haven’t been released yet, but it’s said that the story will be based on Detective Pikachu, a new character in the Pokémon universe that was introduced in a 2016 video game released in Japan for the Nintendo 3DS. The game saw players controlling a character called Tim Goodman, a boy who works with a talking Pikachu to solve mysteries.
Detective Pikachu first appeared in a 2016 Nintendo 3DS video game
Netflix was also reportedly in talks to bag the deal as a result of the heightened interest in Pokémon following the success of Niantic’s Pokémon Go video game, which has been downloaded around 75 million times according to some estimates.
“After Pokémon Go…became a phenomenon quickly after its July 6 launch, Legendary set about closing the deal with The Pokemon Co., the Japanese outfit that manages the rights to the franchise spun from the hit Nintendo game. Sources say Netflix was very hot on the property,” writes the Hollywood Reporter.
The film is set to be distributed by Toho in Japan, and by Universal Pictures globally. The movie is set to be the first live-action Pokémon movie in a 19-movie strong film franchise that dates back to 1998.
Related: Pokémon Go Tips & Tricks
Watch: What is Pokémon Go?
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
