For Gen 1 fans, Detective Pikachu is fast becoming the must-see movie event of the summer.
And in a year which heralds the release of big-name titles like Avengers: Endgame and The Lion King, that’s quite a statement. But it’s fair to say that Detective Pikachu, the live-action bonanza from Warner Bros. and director Rob Letterman, has filled its boots with generation 1 icons (Charizard! Lickitung! More!) and more nostalgia than you can shake a Pokeball at.
Case in point: the latest trailer has arrived to promote Jigglypuff and Psyduck, and if you pay close attention, you can get acquainted with each pocket monster and their respective chirp. Or, in Jigglypuff’s case, lullaby.
Granted, it’s nothing we haven’t seen before; with a mid-May release date fast approaching, Warner Bros. is becoming more selective with its Detective Pikachu promotion, perhaps in fear of ruining the movie’s big plot twist. Not that it’ll have much of an effect on the film’s prognosis; Detective Pikachu is reportedly testing off the charts, while the general consensus appears to be that Rob Letterman’s live-action, genre-blending adventure will draw in a huge crowd with its laughs and spectacle.
The only question left now is whether the Warner Bros. pic can rake in enough box office receipts to warrant a full-blown franchise. Disney has been banking on nostalgia for years with its live-action fairytales (see: Beauty and the Beast), so we imagine Detective Pikachu stands a pretty good chance of conquering the global box office charts in two months’ time.
Detective Pikachu lights up theaters the world over on May 10th. And yes, there’ve already been rumblings of a potential live-action sequel to the Warner Bros. joint, prompting rumors that Ryan Reynolds will be back in the voice booth as everyone’s favorite pocket monster. We can only hope…