Live-Action 'Pokémon' Movie Cast News: Justice Smith Bags Lead Role in Film
The first "Pokémon" live-action adaptation is making good progress, having cast the lead star. "Detective Pikachu" will feature relative newcomer Justice Smith as the first human cast member for the upcoming movie.
Legendary Pictures have bought the rights to a "Pokémon" movie, and they have come up with a mystery live-action adaptation to make the most out of it, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The movie is in the very early stages of production, and "The Get Down" star Justice Smith is the first cast member announced.
The studio is looking at "Detective Pikachu" as the first in a series of films featuring "Pokémon" stories, which means that Smith could be in for several years' worth of "Pokémon" roles. No other casting details are known as of this time, including who Smith's character is going to be, as Den of Geek notes.
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There's also an upcoming Nintendo 3DS game of the same title, according to Polygon. "Great Detective Pikachu" for Nintendo's older handheld console is now available on the eShop, although it's not clear if this game is, in any way, related to the movie.
In the game, players team up with a talking Pikachu bent on solving crimes, which also mostly involve other Pokémon. This 3DS release has not yet reached the Western market, so U.S. fans are mostly unfamiliar with the idea of a detective Pikachu.
For the movie, "Guardians of the Galaxy" writer Nicole Perlman is teaming up with Alex Hirsch, creator of Disney Channel's "Gravity Falls," to come up with the script.
Justice Smith is also starring in Universal Studio's new "Jurassic World" sequel, joining Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard in the new dinosaur movie coming out by June 2018. Smith also previously appeared in "Paper Towns" by John Green.
More details about "Detective Pikachu" are expected to surface in the coming weeks.
