Hollywood studio Legendary has hired Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds to play the lead role in its upcoming Detective Pikachu film, according to Hollywood Reporter. Nintendo and The Pokémon Company released a Detective Pikachu game for the 3DS last year, and Legendary announced it is adapting the property into a film in August 2016. Now, Reynolds is in charge of bringing the mascot character to life.
The movie is important because it is the first major live-action adaptation of the Pokémon universe to come out of Hollywood. With Reynolds in place, Legendary now has its principal cast and crew in place. The Van Wilder star will join Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom‘s Justice Smith and Big Little Lies‘ Kathryn Newton in front of the camera. Goosebumps director Rob Letterman is at the helm of the production.
This casting news will come as a disappointment to some fans who have made it clear that they wanted Danny DeVito for the Pikachu role. The character of Detective Pikachu is comical because he is a gruff spin on what is typically a cute character who can only squeak his own name. Essentially, Danny DeVito is the exact opposite of the standard Pikachu, which is what would have made it funny. Reynolds, however, can likely deliver a similar performance that is just as incongruous with the traditional image of Pikachu — just look at his work in Deadpool.
But I will admit that I’m disappointed that the Danny DeVito dream is dead:
In addition to the casting, Hollywood Reporter also detailed a bit about the story. The film will follow Smith’s character who attempts to find his kidnapped father and enlists the help of Detective Pikachu to get the job done. Newton’s character fills out the heroic trio as a “sassy journalist” — so basically, just imagine me.
If you’re wondering how Legendary is using Ryan Reynolds for this role, you can expect some performance capture. This means that on a soundstage somewhere in our world, the star of Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place will be wearing a tracking suit and pretending to be a tiny, yellow electric mouse.
