from Nintendo Pokémon series have had a strong hold on pop culture for decades, and they’re unlikely to change anytime soon. Most of this power comes from video and collectible card games, as well as the everlasting animated in progress and the films and shows that result from it. So how do you make one of the biggest video game properties even bigger? You’re making the bold leap to Hollywood.
First released in Japan on May 3, 2019, then the following week in the United States, Detective Pikachu was the very first live-action Pokémon film, and also Nintendo’s first video game film since super mario bros. If anyone has ever thought Pokémon and Legendary Pictures, let alone based on a 2016 spinoff game in which the brand’s mascot Pikachu is a private detective with the voice of Ryan Reynolds. Yes, the monsters all seemed incredibly real and tangible, just like fans had it. always dreamed, but having Deadpool as the leader could have undermined everything. Was this going to work?
The answer turned out to be “yes”: Detective Pikachu got fairly positive reviews and earned $450.1 million worldwide. At the time, it was the highest-grossing video game film of its time, at least until Super Mario movie knocked him off his pedestal last year. If the world hadn’t been hit so far by the pandemic and Hollywood strikes of the 2020s, we probably would have gotten a sequel by now; Portlandia co-creator Jonathan Krisel was tapped to direct it last year working from a script by Chris Galetta, but that appears to be at least two years away, minimum. (Coming out as Avengers: Endgame was still in theaters, that probably wasn’t the right decision either.) As is, it’s a well-regarded film that made a good impression in the video game cinema space including The future has been buried under bad luck.
At the same time, it appears to have had an appreciable impact regarding Pokémon transmedia output. THE animated was always going to persist whether it did well or not, but the success of the film certainly helped open Nintendo’s minds to the possibilities of what this franchise could be. Without it, we probably would not have Pokémon Concierge or the original drama series Pocket ni Bōken wo Tsumekonde, which concerns the scope and impact of Pokémon rather than situating oneself in its world. And that’s exactly what we know: in a Pokémon Direct or two, we may learn that Nintendo intends to create a cinematic universe in the vein of what Paramount is doing with Sonic the Hedgehog.
Compared to other video game adaptations like To fall And The last of us, or even Esoteric, it wouldn’t be bad to feel like Detective Pikachu was neglected. His time in the sun will surely come whenever this sequel arrives. In that way, it’s like anime: whatever happens next, we hope it’s an evolution that builds on the winning formula of its predecessor. And if not, well, at least we have video of Dancing Pikachu to brighten up the day.
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