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'Detective Pikachu' Film Gains Ken Watanabe

Oscar nominee Ken Watanabe will be joining Ryan Reynolds in the Legendary Pictures' live action "Detective Pikachu" film.


We're still not really sure what Universal and Legendary Pictures are planning with their upcoming live-action Pokemon film Detective Pikachu, but their cast sure is getting good.

Ken Watanabe attends The DreamWorks SKG and Sony Pictures Premiere of "Memoirs of a Geisha" held at The Kodak Theater in Hollywood, California on December 4, 2005.
Photo by Tinseltown/Shutterstock.com

Oscar nominee Ken Watanabe (The Last Samurai, Inception) has just been brought in to join the cast, apparently in a role that was specifically created for the film (so says The Hollywood Reporter, in any case). Watanabe will play a character named Detective Yoshida, and theoretically, he might be someone Detective Pikachu works with or for.

Ryan Reynolds has been attached to star as the electric type pokemon Detective Pikachu, who reportedly sets himself apart from other pikachus by presenting himself as a self-styled investigator who is good at finding things.  Detective Pikachus is a world-class detective and exceptionally intelligent talking Pikachu that only one other character in the film (Justice Smith's Tim Goodman) can understand. Reynolds performs both the voice and facial motion capture for the character.

Justice Smith (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom) and Kathryn Newton (Big Little Lies) are also on board. The story is set into motion when Smith's character's father is kidnapped, forcing the teen to team up with Pikachu in order to find him.  Smith's character was an aspiring Pokémon trainer and insurance agent looking for his father, who is missing. He is also Detective Pikachu's partner and the only person capable of hearing and understanding Detective Pikachu.  Kathryn Newton plays Lucy Stevens, a reporter who has a Psyduck.

Director Rob Letterman (Goosebumps) is helming the film from the director's chair, and word is production will start with shooting beginning later this month in London. The original script is by Nicole Perlman and Alex Hirsch, with Eric Pearson and Tom McCarthy completing some 'production polishes' on the final shooting draft.

Detective Pikachu is set to hit theaters on May 10th, 2019.

 


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Mary Anne ButlerAbout Mary Anne Butler

Bleeding Cool News Editor Mary Anne Butler (Mab, for short) has been part of the fast-paced world of journalism since she was 15, getting her start in album reviews and live concert coverage for a nationally published (print) music magazine. She eventually transitioned to online media, writing for such sites as UGO/IGN, ComicsOnline, Geek Magazine, Ace of Geeks, Aggressive Comix (where she is still Editor-in-Chief), and most recently Bleeding Cool. 

Over the past 10 years, she’s built a presence at conventions across the globe as a cosplayer (occasionally), photographer (constantly), panelist and moderator (mostly), and reporter (always). 

 Interviews, reviews, observations, breaking news, and objective reporting are the name of the game for the founder of Harkonnen Knife Fight, a Dune-themed band with an international presence. 

 Though she be but little, she is fierce. #MabTheProfessional
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