The Pokémon Company has officially announced Pokémon: Wild Card, a new feature-length animated film set to arrive in theaters in 2027. The project was unveiled during the closing ceremony of the 2026 Pokémon World Championships in San Francisco, accompanied by an initial teaser trailer highlighting the production.
The upcoming feature marks the franchise’s first animated theatrical release since 2020’s Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle. Departing from traditional anime storylines centered around Pokémon battling journeys, Pokémon: Wild Card focuses directly on the competitive world of the Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG). The narrative follows an aspiring card player and his partner, the Ghost/Fairy-type Disguise Pokémon Mimikyu, as they navigate competitive card tournaments to achieve their ambitions.
Japanese animation studio CloverWorks (Spy x Family Code: White, Bocchi the Rock!) is handling animation production alongside Story Inc. (Weathering with You, The Colors Within). Katsuhiko Kitada serves as director, with character designs provided by Akemi Hayashi (Banana Fish). The production marks the first feature-length Pokémon anime film animated outside of OLM, Inc., the studio responsible for the previous 23 theatrical installments.
First introduced in the 2016 video games Pokémon Sun and Moon, Mimikyu wears a hand-crafted disguise resembling Pikachu to conceal its true form while seeking companionship. The teaser preview showcased the character sporting a yellow hoodie alongside its trainer as they prepare for a high-stakes match.
The theatrical announcement arrives alongside broader screen expansions for the brand, including the upcoming stop-motion series Pokémon Tales: The Misadventures of Sirfetch’d & Pichu, produced with Aardman Animations for Disney+ and Disney XD.
Toho is set to distribute Pokémon: Wild Card theatrically in Japan in 2027, with international distribution details to follow.
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