Summary
Detective Pikachumay have been a great standalone film, but it was not the live-actionPokémonadaptation I’ve always wished to see. One of the most popular IPs in the world, any newPokémonproperty has massive potential and usually becomes a commercial hit. Surprisingly, though,Detective Pikachu(2019) never got a sequel.The film made $450 million at the worldwide box office on a $150 million budget, withDetective Pikachu2’s statusbeing unclear ever since. In 2021,Varietyreported that a live-actionPokémonseries was in early development at Netflix.
With no updates on the rumored series and the uncertainty regardingDetective Pikachu2,it might take a while beforePokémonreturns to live-action. WithOne Piecebecoming one of Netflix’s most-watched shows of 2023and aNarutomovie in the worksfromShang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Ringsdirector Destin Cretton, now seems the perfect time for beloved gaming and anime properties to receive live-action adaptations. Although Hollywood does not have a perfect track with live-action anime, I believePokémoncan work in this format, yet not in the style ofDetective Pikachu.
Detective Pikachu Was Great (But Not Really Live-Action Pokémon)
Detective Pikachuwas a fun movie that broughtPokémonto live-action for the first time since the inception of the franchise in 1996. The character models fromallDetective PikachuPokémonlooked incredible, and the visual effects did them justice. Having been aPokémonfan for as long as I remember,I was incredibly excited to see the Generation 1 Pokémon in live-action for the first time.Fortunately,Detective Pikachudid not disappoint on that matter. The film also had a compelling story about Tim reconnecting with his father thanks to an unusual Pikachu and a mysterious plot revolving around Mewtwo.
Detective Pikachuis mainly about Tim investigating his father’s accident with “Detective Pikachu” by his side.
However, when compared to thePokémonanime and most of the games,Detective Pikachuwas hardly a proper live-actionPokémonadaptation. Of course, it was a live-action movie set in the world ofPokémon, yet it did not match the tone or the premise ofPokémonthat most people are familiar with.Detective Pikachutakes place in Ryme City, a place where humans and Pokémon co-existdifferently from the rest of the world. There are no Pokémon gyms, battles, or tournaments in Ryme City. Not even Poké Balls can be found there.
Ken Watanabe
Lieutenant Hideo Yoshida
The first few minutes ofDetective Pikachumake it clear that the movie will not be a traditionalPokémonstory. As soon as Tim arrives in Ryme City, audiences learn that this place was designed to be unlike any other region in thePokémonworld. The movie makes sure that audiences understand that they will not see classicPokémonbattles or Tim challenging a gym trainer like Ash would do all the time.Detective Pikachuis mainly about Tim investigating his father’s accident with “Detective Pikachu” by his side.
Why Detective Pikachu Ignored Most Things That Define Pokémon
Detective Pikachu was based on the 2016 game
As much as I enjoyedDetective Pikachu, I would have liked to see a more traditionalPokémonstory with gym trainers and tournaments in live-action.However, that was never going to beDetective Pikachu. TheRyan Reynolds-led moviewas loosely based on 2016’sDetective Pikachugame, which was quite different from usualPokémongames.Detective Pikachuwas not about a trainer leveling up and catching Pokémon around the mapbut rather a mystery players had to solve with the help of a talking Pikachu. TheDetective Pikachugame was more narrative-driven than most of the franchise’s releases.
TheDetective Pikachugame got a sequel in 2023,Detective Pikachu Returns.
Therefore, while I was surprised that the first live-actionPokémonmovie was going to be based onDetective Pikachu, the decision made sense.It is arguably easier to turn a story likeDetective Pikachu’s into a three-act blockbuster moviethan to bringPokémon’s serialized format to the big screen. Tournament movies have a very distinct structure to them, whereas detective stories are made into movies all the time. TheDetective Pikachufilm was a reasonable way of turning the saga into a movie franchise, but I wished the first live-actionPokémonproperty had tried a different approach.
What A True Pokémon Live-Action Adaptation Would Look Like
Pokémon is about the adventure (and Pokémon battles)
A true live-actionPokémonadaptation would keep the essence of the franchise – adventurous Pokémon trainers embarking on exciting journeys to make their dreams come true. That is not to say there should be aPokémonmovie about Ash Ketchum or Red, only thatfocusing on battles and tournaments would be a more exciting way of adaptingPokémonto other media. After almost three decades,Pokémonhas built a visual identity that can work in live-action properties regardless of how unique it is. I would love to see aPokémonmovie or show following a brand-new character and their journey.
Detective Pikachu 2 Happening Really Shouldn’t Be This Hard, 5 Years After Pokémon’s $450M Success
Detective Pikachu made over three times its budget at the global box office. And yet, despite a positive reception, a sequel still hasn’t happened.
Of course, a live-actionPokémonmovie or even a show would have to make changes to the game’s structure, especially regarding the pacing. A movie cannot be about a trainer going from gym to gym and eventually fighting the region’s top trainer, which does not mean that a more traditionalPokémonstory cannot work in live-action. APokémonfilm could combine classicPokémonbattles and challenges with an overarching story and recurring villains. That said,a big-budget TV show would be the best way of bringingPokémoninto live-action.
Netflix’s One Piece Success Proves Pokémon Can Work In Live-Action
One Piece live-action was not afraid of the anime’s tone
It made sense for the firstPokémonlive-action movie to be very different from the anime at a time when adaptations of beloved anime properties had mostly been extremely disappointing. However, things have improved since 2017.Hollywood’s live-action anime adaptationscould improve massively after the success of Netflix’sOne Piece, which faithfully covered Eiichiro Oda’s manga while bringing in new fans.One Pieceseason 1 embraced all the “weirdness” of Luffy’s story and treated the world created by Oda with a lot of respect, proving that anime adaptations can stay truthful to the source material.
A big-budget series can explore different corners of thePokémonuniverse as its protagonists go from region to region seeking to be the very best.
Netflix’sOne Piececaptured the spirit of adventure that defines Luffy’s journey, which is also the ideal tone for aPokémonstory. As funny as it may sound, Ash’s truePokémonMaster title in the anime was “the friends he made along the way” – the journey was always more important inPokémonthan the tournaments. A big-budget series can explore different corners of thePokémonuniverse as its protagonists go from region to region seeking to be the very best. DespiteDetective Pikachu’s underwhelming box office.Pokémoncan still make for a successful live-action franchise.
Detective Pikachu
Cast
A loose adaptation of the video game of the same name, Detective Pikachu follows former Pokémon trainer Tim Goodman (Justice Smith) and Detective Pikachu (Ryan Reynolds) as they set out to investigate the mysterious disappearance of Tim’s father, Harry. Tim’s investigation takes him and Detective Pikachu into the heart of a conspiracy that threatens to shake their native Ryme City - and the entire Pokémon world - to its very foundation.
