Ryan Reynolds to Play Pikachu in Live-Action 'Pokémon' Film

Justice Smith from 'The Get Down' will also star.

Ryan Reynolds
Getty

Ryan Reynolds attends the 2017 Time 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 25, 2017 in New York City. / AFP PHOTO / ANGELA WEISS (Photo credit should read ANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty Images)

Ryan Reynolds

Ryan Reynolds has landed a starring role in the upcoming Pokémon movie, Detective Pikachu.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the 41-year-old actor has been tapped to provide the voice of the live-action film’s titular character. You read right: the Deadpool star will play Pikachu with a motion-capture performance.

The movie is based on a 2016 Japanese video game that requires players to solve mysteries with the help of a talking Pikachu dressed like Sherlock Holmes.

Reynolds will star alongside actors Justice Smith (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and The Get Down) and Kathryn Newton (Big Little Lies). Rob Letterman will direct Detective Pikachu, with Nicole Perlman and Alex Hirsch penning the script.

According to THR, the film’s plot will focus on the kidnapping of Smith’s father. Smith then joins Pikachu and "a sassy journalist" (Newton) to track him down.

As of now, there aren’t many details about the Legendary Entertainment project, other than the aforementioned credits. Stay tuned as more information comes through and never forget this:

Hi, I am just learning that Pikachu speaks English in the new Pokemon movie and, yes, it is extremely fucking weird pic.twitter.com/k5hm5lyW7Y

— Ryan Broderick (@broderick) November 13, 2017

Latest in Pop Culture