Just mere days stand between Pokéfans and quite possibly the greatest video game adaptation of all time in Detective Pikachu but even now, so close to release, one particular casting still has the power to raise eyebrows. On paper, the pairing of Ryan Reynolds’ voice with the face and visage of Pikachu makes little more sense than chalk and cheese. In practice, though, the truth couldn’t be more different.
Early critic and fan reactions alike to the live-action blockbuster have heaped particular praise on Reynolds and Justice Smith’s lead role performances, but for the former, this family-friendly affair is far from a run of the mill gig. In recent years, the actor has established for himself a whole new fanbase for portraying Marvel’s foul-mouthed anti-hero Deadpool, a role that, ironically, might have been responsible for landing him the job as everyone’s favourite yellow mouse.
In a recent sit-down with ComicBook.com, Reynolds revealed how he believes his performance as the obnoxiously sarcastic and witty character resulted in his initial candidacy. “I think they hired me for some of that,” he tells the site, adding that “A whole bunch of us took passes at the script — I also took a pass at the script. We all got to kind of shape it the way we wanted; I got to make sure the voice is sort of worked the way I think it could work for me. Inevitably, I’m at the mercy of the filmmakers.”
Evidently, Reynolds was given leeway to inject a great deal of his own humor into the role, though with the actor having previously revealed that enough cut footage exists to cobble together an R-Rated cut of Detective Pikachu, it goes without saying that some of those jokes strayed slightly too far into adult territory. Given The Pokémon Company’s strict adherence to a family-friendly image, the chances of those outtakes ever hitting the public domain are slim to none, though one need only give Deadpool or its sequel a watch to get a good idea of the expletives they could potentially contain.
Regardless, you can judge for yourselves, the quality of Reynolds’ performance when Detective Pikachu hits North American theaters on May 10th.