Back in October 2013, we saw some test footage of a facially mo-capped Pikachu in a detective hat that spoke Japanese. Understandably, a lot of fans raised their eyebrows at this strange clip. But now? Well, we’re about to see Detective Pikachu up on the big screen and it’s looking to lead the charge for a media juggernaut that may well launch its own Pokémon Cinematic Universe.
Ever since the first trailer arrived back in November, the internet’s been insanely excited for this one, and it’s not hard to see why. We’ve also been hearing nothing but positive impressions out of test screenings, which are apparently resulting in numbers that are “off the charts good.” From what we understand, audiences are loving the performances, the witty script and some impressive CGI in regards to the Pokémon themselves.
Speaking of which, though the footage we’ve seen so far has kept some of the biggest surprises under wraps, this latest promo (which you can view up above) reveals our very first look at Lickitung in action. It also gives us some more of that Mr. Mime/Detective Pikachu interrogation and even a nice closeup of Bulbasaur. At only 30 seconds in length, there’s not a ton to feast on here, but it’s undoubtedly another exciting taste of what’s to come.
Even if it doesn’t turn out to be the smash hit that people are predicting it’ll be, we’re hopeful that Detective Pikachu can at least be the one to finally break the curse of terrible video game movies. Given that it’s been 26 years since Super Mario Bros: The Movie flopped into cinemas and there’s been nothing better than mediocre since then, I think we’re due for one.
Can Legendary’s hopeful franchise-starter be the film to buck the trend? We’ll find out on May 10th.