Legendary Entertainment announced today that Rob Letterman is set to direct the upcoming groundbreaking Detective Pikachu live-action film. With a script written by Nicole Perlman and Alex Hirsch, the project follows Detective Pikachu, a new character and storyline in the Pokémon universe.
Letterman’s past credits include Goosebumps, which he directed, Monsters vs. Aliens, and Shark Tale, both of which he wrote and directed. He is represented by WME.
Legendary’s distribution partner, Universal Pictures will release the live-action film outside Japan. The Pokémon Company ‘s long time movie collaborator, Toho, will handle distribution of the film franchise in Japan, as it had similarly done in its partnership with Legendary on its iconic monster reboot for Godzilla.
First introduced in Japan in 1996, Pokémon has delighted fans of all ages around the world for two decades. With more than 279 million video games sold worldwide, 21.5 billion TCG cards shipped to 74 countries, and an animated series spanning 20 seasons, Pokémon is one of the most popular and successful entertainment brands in the world.
You can watch the trailer for the previously-released Great Detective Pikachu game for Nintendo in Japan below.
