Ryan Reynolds starred in a video game adaptation that raked in over $400 million at the box office, but there hasn’t been much talk of a sequel since then. Reynolds has obviously been busy with other projects, such asDeadpool, Free Guy, Red Noticeand owning a Welsh soccer team, but this doesn’t explain why there hasn’t been a sequel.
Hollywood seems to have broken its video game adaptation curse in recent years, with hits like theSonic the Hedgehogfranchise andThe Super Mario Bros. Movieproving that it’s possible to please fans of the games while entertaining newcomers. Reynolds has his own potential franchise ready and waiting.
Detective Pikachu Has A Ton Of Sequel Potential
The First Live-Action Pokémon Movie Should Have Started A Franchise
Back in 2019,Detective Pikachuwas a huge commercial success, and it seemed as though it could kick-start a new live-action Pokémon franchise. A sequel was announced before the first movie was even released, and a $433 million box office haul should only have provided more encouragement to continue building the franchise.
Detective Pikachufeatures plenty of fan-favorite Pokémonas fans had never seen them before. The live-action aesthetic means that the creatures have a more realistic appearance in some cases, butDetective Pikachualso offers fans a chance to see how Pokémon might interact with people in the real world.
Choosing to adaptDetective Pikachurather than any of the main series of Pokémon games gave the movie a better chance of connecting with audiences who weren’t too familiar with the franchise. Instead of getting bogged down in the details about the Pokédex, gym badges and evolution,Detective Pikachuplays out like a more accessible mystery movie.
The potential for a sequel is clear, especially since theending ofDetective Pikachuseems to hint at a bright future for the main characters. The sequel could follow another threat to the city, forcing Tim Goodman to work with a new cast of Pokémon sidekicks to solve a fresh mystery.
Detective Pikachu 2 Seems To Be Stuck In Limbo
Six Years Have Passed Without Much Concrete News
AlthoughDetective Pikachu 2seemed like the obvious next step after the first movie,news about the sequel has been hard to come by.The first movie was met with mixed reviews, and a 68% Rotten Tomatoes score, which might offer some explanation as to why a sequel wasn’t immediately put into production.
Although some Pokémon fans might have felt a little disappointed withDetective Pikachu,there are plenty of reasons to believe that a sequel could learn from the mistakes of the original and make a big improvement. If a sequel does come to fruition, it will certainly have a global fan base waiting for it.
Detective Pikachu
Cast
A loose adaptation of the video game of the same name, Detective Pikachu follows former Pokémon trainer Tim Goodman (Justice Smith) and Detective Pikachu (Ryan Reynolds) as they set out to investigate the mysterious disappearance of Tim’s father, Harry. Tim’s investigation takes him and Detective Pikachu into the heart of a conspiracy that threatens to shake their native Ryme City - and the entire Pokémon world - to its very foundation.
