A few years before The Last of Us was hailed as the greatest video game adaptation ever made, we'd say that accolade deserved to go to Detective Pikachu. Sonic the Hedgehog certainly gave it a run for its money, but the first live-action Pokémon movie received positive reviews from fans and critics, earning a respectable $340 million worldwide.
A sequel seemed like a given and was actually announced prior to the first instalment's release in 2019. Talking of Sonic the Hedgehog, the movie's scribe, Oren Uziel, was attached to write the script but has since been replaced by Chris Galletta (Portlandia).
Jonathan Krisel, meanwhile, remains in talks to direct Detective Pikachu 2, meaning this movie could serve as a reunion for the duo after they co-created the aforementioned TV series.
We know Ryan Reynolds is going to return in some capacity, but another A-Lister may have joined the sequel's ranks if a report from Giant Freakin Robot (via Toonado.com) is to be believed. Yes, the site is very hit-and-miss, but they've delivered at least a few accurate scoops in recent weeks, including one of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse's biggest surprise cameos.
According to the site, the Oscar winner is being eyed to play the movie's villain. There's currently no word on who the Men in Black and Bad Boys star would appear as, but this would actually serve as the first time Smith has played a true villain or antagonist in his career.
Giovanni would be an awesome role for Smith, especially after Mewtwo's presence in the first instalment. That's pure speculation on our part, though, and nothing is confirmed at this stage.
It will certainly be interesting to see where Detective Pikachu's story goes from here, but given the love and respect that went into the first movie, we're sure this follow-up, like its predecessor, will be embraced by fans.
As you may recall, Netflix entered a deal with The Pokémon Company a couple of years ago to develop a live-action TV series. That's still thought to be in the works and will likely be unrelated to this sequel.
Stay tuned for Detective Pikachu updates as we have them.