Detective Pikachu star pours cold water on those sequel plans
"I don't think it's going to happen."
Plans for a Detective Pikachu film sequel were in the works following the successful launch of Pokémon's live-action big screen debut but now, on the film's second anniversary, we have our clearest indicator yet we won't see a Detective Pikachu 2 after all.
Here is the film's star (no, not Pikachu) Justice Smith, being asked if he'd still be up for it:
"I would love to participate in Detective Pikachu 2. I don't know if it's going to happen," Smith told Inverse. "I think we have to just kind of bury our hopes. I don't think it's going to happen. I really hope so though. Honestly, I'm such a huge fan, who knows, who knows? I hope so."
Plans for a Detective Pikachu sequel were announced before the first film even opened. Despite a decent box office performance - it is the second-highest grossing video game film adaptation behind Warcraft - we've not heard anything more since.
Detective Pikachu featured Smith opposite a CGI Pikachu voiced by Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds. It was a loose retelling of the 3DS video game of the same name.
A Detective Pikachu game sequel was announced back in 2019 for Nintendo Switch, but we've heard nothing more on that either. Instead, two Pokémon games set in Diamond and Pearl's Sinnoh region are on their way either side of Christmas 2021, with a retro remake this year and an open-world feudal prequel in early 2022.