The long-awaited Pokémon Detective Pikachu sequel has found its director.
As reported by Deadline, Jonathan Krisel is in negotiations with Legendary Pictures to helm the sequel to the 2019 hit. Krisel is primarily known for his work in television comedy, having co-created and directed episodes of IFC's Portlandia and FX's Baskets. He has also directed episodes of Kroll Show, Man Seeking Woman and segments on Saturday Night Live and Funny or Die Presents. He was announced to make his feature directorial debut in 2019 with the third Sesame Street film, but there hasn't been any news on the project since then.
The first Detective Pikachu was directed by Rob Letterman and was loosely based on the 2016 game of the same name. The story followed teenager Tim Goodman (Justice Smith) who investigates the mysterious disappearance of his father with the help of a sleuthing Pikachu (Ryan Reynolds) that only he can understand. The film received positive reviews for its lead performances, sense of humor and CGI renderings of Pokemon in a realistic setting. It went on to gross $433 million at the global box office and has since been regarded as one of the better entries in the much-fraught genre of movies based on video games.
Nintendo's Upcoming Films
Legendary announced a Detective Pikachu sequel was in development before the first film's release, but further details weren't released at the time. In 2021, Smith said he didn't expect the sequel to be made, saying, "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." However, earlier this year a representative from Legendary confirmed that Detective Pikachu 2 was still in active development for the studio, which coincides with rumors that Nintendo has almost finished work on a follow-up Pokémon game, which is expected to release on the Switch.
Nintendo's next experiment in bringing its characters to the big screen will be The Super Mario Bros. Movie. The film's star-studded cast includes Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Jack Black, Charlie Day and Seth Rogen, and it's set to hit theaters on April 5.
The Detective Pikachu sequel doesn't yet have a release date.
Source: Deadline