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Sorry, Danny DeVito fans: ‘Detective Pikachu’ will star Ryan Reynolds

'Detective Pikachu' gets a May 2019 release date

The Hitman's Bodyguard topped a dismal Labor Day weekend box office.
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Ryan Reynolds has played multiple superheroes, a manipulative music executive, and a paranormal police officer, but his greatest role is yet to come. The actor has been cast as the lead in the upcoming film Detective Pikachu, and will undoubtedly offer a different take on the character than the squeaky noises we’ve previously heard.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Reynolds will also be providing motion capture for the character, and the film will begin shooting next January in London. It will reportedly release on May 10, 2019.

Rob Letterman, who previously directed the surprisingly good Goosebumps movie as well as Shark Tale, will direct. Gravity Falls creator Alex Hirsch is working on the script with Guardians of the Galaxy writer Nicole Perlman, which will see Pikachu working to save a teenager’s kidnapped father.

Ryan Reynolds is no stranger to action-comedies, having experience with the recent Deadpool film. He also gave a hilarious performance in 2005’s film Just Friends, but we’re pretty sure this is the first time he’ll be playing an electrified mouse, and we’re hoping he’s given more than just his own name to say in the film.

Some fans aren’t happy with the decision to cast Reynolds in the role, however, as they were hoping for legendary actor Danny DeVito for Pikachu. A petition was created in 2016 to convince Nintendo to cast DeVito in the game Great Detective Pikachu, but he said he wasn’t interested. In fact, he actually had no idea what Pokémon was when he was asked about it.

Still, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia fans had a good time imagining what such a game would look (and sound) like, with several trailers splicing together footage from the game’s trailers with audio clips from DeVito’s various projects. We’re pretty sure Nintendo was never going to reference “rum ham” in the video game, but it never hurts to dream.

The Detective Pikachu movie actually won’t be the first time we’ve heard Pikachu speak. In the animated Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You! the creature says a few words to trainer Ash in English. It’s a bizarre moment that we never want to relive again and refuse to accept as canon.

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Gabe Gurwin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
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