Rob Letterman is jumping from one batch of wild creatures to another.
The Goosebumps helmer will be directing the live-action Pokémon movie Detective Pikachu for Legendary, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
The movie is expected to begin filming in early 2017, and Legendary is hoping to take advantage of recent Poké-hype thanks to Pokémon GO and the November release of Pokémon Sun and Moon.
Related: Read our complete Pokémon Sun and Moon review
“Despite not being as powerful and nimble as other Pikachu of his kind, [Detective Pikachu is] rather intelligent and claims to be a great detective,” a recently synopsis stated. “One day, Pikachu encounters a boy named Tim Goodman, who is able to understand what he is saying. Thus, the two begin working together to solve various mysteries revolving around Pokémon in the city.”
Letterman’s other credits include Monsters vs. Aliens and Shark Tale, so he’s got experience in the whole talking creatures department.
It’ll be interesting to see if people care about Detective Pikachu in another year or two, or whenever the film hits theaters. It’s been widely reported that GO usage has dramatically decreased since its summer launch. The movie appears to only be in the works to capitalize on the hype.
That said, GO is working hard to keep users interested in playing. One hundred new Pokémon are expected to be added to the game soon, and Niantic recently added streak features to reward players for playing the game on a daily basis. Just last week they added Ditto to the game, but he’s cleverly disguised as other common creatures.
We wouldn’t be surprised to see Detective Pikachu appear in the mobile game around the time of the movie’s release. It’d be a nice way to remind people about the film hitting theaters. Maybe catching him could give us a discount on a movie ticket? A trainer can dream!