Detective Pikachu (film)

Pokémon Detective Pikachu is a 2019 fantasy film directed by Rob Letterman. Based on the Pokémon franchise, the film is a loose adaptation of the 2018 video game of the same name. It was written by Rob Letterman, Dan Hernandez, Benji Samit, and Derek Connolly, from a story by Hernandez, Samit, and Nicole Perlman, and produced by Legendary Pictures, The Pokémon Company, and Toho Co., Ltd. It was the first live-action Pokémon film, and the first live-action film based on a Nintendo game property since Super Mario Bros. (1993). The film stars Ryan Reynolds as the voice and facial motion capture of Pikachu, with Justice Smith, Kathryn Newton, Suki Waterhouse, Omar Chaparro, Chris Geere, Ken Watanabe, and Bill Nighy in live-action roles. The plot follows Tim Goodman and the titular Pokémon as they attempt to solve the mysterious disappearance of Tim's father, Harry.

Filming took place from January to May 2018 in Colorado, England, and Scotland. Detective Pikachu was released in Japan on May 3, 2019 and in the United States on May 10, 2019, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is the first Pokémon film distributed theatrically in the United States since Pokémon Heroes (2003) and the first distributed by Warner Bros. since Pokémon 3: The Movie (2001). The film received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for the visual effects and Reynolds' performance, and made a worldwide gross of $433 million, became the highest grossing video game film adaptation of all time until it was surpassed by The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023). A sequel is in development.