According to The Hollywood Reporter, Oscar-nominated actor Ken Watanabe (Batman Begins) has been cast as Detective Yoshida in Legendary Entertainment’s upcoming live-action Pokémon movie Detective Pikachu. Ryan Reynolds (The Hitman’s Bodyguard) stars in the titular role. Also in the cast are Kathryn Newton (Big Little Lies) and Justice Smith (Paper Towns).
Rob Letterman (Goosebumps) helms from a screenplay by Alex Hirsch and Nicole Perlman, with Eric Pearson and Tom McCarthy doing finishing touches. The screenplay was based on an original story by Tomokazu Ohara and Haruka Utsui. The original concept is credited to Satoshi Tajiri. Mary Parent and Cale Boyter are producing for Legendary. Alexandra Mendes will co-produce. Joe Caracciolo Jr. and Tsunekazu Ishihara are executive producers.
In the world of Pokémon, human trainers catch and collect cute pocket monsters (Pokémon) to battle agaist each other in tournaments. Pikachu is a type of Pokémon, and in the movie, Detective Pikachu has the skill set of being able to find things. The story centers around a teenage boy’s (Smith) father who has been kidnapped, and Detective Pikachu is called in to work with the teen to locate him.
Watanabe was recently seen in Batman Begins, as well as Legendary’s Godzilla. There will be an upcoming sequel – Godzilla: King of Monsters. Watanabe will be voice-acting in Wes Anderson’s upcoming animated adventure comedy set in Japan, Isle of Dogs.
Detective Pikachu is set to start shooting this month in London.
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