The first movie hit cinemas in 2019, starring Ryan Reynolds as the eponymous electric detective.
A second Detective Pikachu movie is still in “active development”, according to a representative from film company Legendary Entertainment (via Polygon). The sequel project was initially announced in 2019, just a few months before the first Detective Pikachu movie arrived in cinemas.
Based on a largely forgotten Pokemon spin-off game released in 2016 for the Nintendo 3DS, the first Detective Pikachu movie hit cinemas in 2019, starring Ryan Reynolds as the eponymous electric detective. A rousing success, the movie reeled in over $436 million at the box office, leaving many eager for a second part.
While the unnamed source from Legendary Entertainment is confident about the sequel’s development, they were unable to confirm any names currently attached to the project. In 2021, actor Justice Smith – who portrayed main character Tim Goodman in the first film – stated in an interview with Inverse that while he would be eager to work on a Detective Pikachu sequel, he had a few doubts whether a sequel would eventually happen.
Possibly someone needs to hire Detective Pikachu himself, because this isn’t the first time a title in the series has mysteriously gone missing. A Nintendo Switch sequel to the original Nintendo 3DS game has allegedly been in the works since 2019, but word on the game’s development has been disconcertingly quiet until late last year, when it was stated in a job profile on LinkedIn that the game was “nearing release”.
Nothing regarding the Nintendo Switch sequel has been revealed since, and it remains unknown when – or if – the game will be released. To say nothing of the sequel film, which at the time of writing, remains vaguely somewhere in development with no concrete details to its name. In 2021, streaming service Netflix announced a live-action Pokemon series to be released at some point in the future, although the status of this project is also unknown.
At present, Detective Pikachu is available for streaming via HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video, and Paramount Plus, with rental available through YouTube, the Google Play Store, and Apple TV. The original Detective Pikachu videogame remains a Nintendo 3DS exclusive, and although physical copies are long out of print, the game can still be purchased digitally through the Nintendo 3DS eShop before it closes on March 27 this year.
