After years of waiting, Pokémon: Detective Pikachu 2 has finally found its director in an exciting sequel update. The original film acted as a loose adaptation of the Nintendo spinoff game in which a talking Pikachu works with the player to solve various mysteries, instead focused on a former Pokémon trainer teaming with the titular figure to solve the mysterious disappearance of his dad. Justice Smith led the live-action cast of the original Pokémon: Detective Pikachu while Ryan Reynolds voiced the eponymous character.
Deadline has brought word that Pokémon: Detective Pikachu 2 is finally moving forward as Legendary Entertainment is in talks with Jonathan Krisel to direct. Krisel, best known for co-creating Portlandia, is set to direct on a script from Chris Galletta. No production start date or cast are confirmed at the time of writing, though sources indicate original star Ryan Reynolds is still being eyed for a part in the sequel.
Everything We Know About Pokémon: Detective Pikachu 2
Development on Pokémon: Detective Pikachu 2 has been a lengthy one, with Legendary announcing it four months ahead of the first film's release with Mortal Kombat and The Lost City's Oren Uziel attached to pen the script. Word went quiet in the years that followed, however, with Smith frequently fielding questions about updates on the sequel and generally feeling doubtful the sequel would happen, despite his hopes for it to be made.
This past February brought the most exciting Pokémon: Detective Pikachu 2 update in years when Legendary confirmed it was still "in active development," while also confirming that Uziel was no longer attached to write. At the time of writing, it's not clear if Galletta, best known for penning The Kings of Summer helmed by future Kong: Skull Island director Jordan Vogt-Roberts, will be writing a whole new script, or if he will be rewriting Uziel's previously completed draft. With no cast confirmed, it's also unclear how the sequel will carry on the story from the original.
With Krisel, also well-known for co-creating, writing and directing Zach Galifianakis' Baskets, directing Pokémon: Detective Pikachu 2, it marks an interesting new direction for the sequel. Where the first film was helmed by Rob Letterman, who had familiarity in blockbuster productions with Gulliver's Travels and Goosebumps, Krisel only recently got behind the camera in the film world with the Sesame Street movie, making this his biggest project yet. Having a background primarily in indie productions, it will be interesting to see how Galletta and Krisel's prior works influence the tone and scale of the long-awaited Pokémon: Detective Pikachu 2.
Source: Deadline