With "Pokemon Go" taking the world by storm this 2016, a "Pokemon" movie is bound to happen. Indeed so, "Detective Pikachu" is currently in the works at Legendary Studios and it has landed its official director.

"Detective Pikachu" live action will be directed by "Goosebumps" director Rob Letterman, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The film will be written by "Guardians of the Galaxy" writer Nicole Perlman and "Gravity Falls" writer Alex Hirsch.

Letterman is a good pick for the position, given his work in fantasy-themed titles such as "Goosebumps" and "Monsters vs. Aliens."

Production is set to begin in 2017 as Legendary has fast-tracked the project due to the recent "Pokemon Go" craze. Animation World Network reported that "Detective Pikachu" follows Pikachu as a detective and as a new character with a new storyline in the Pokemon universe that is based on the Niantic's "Pokemon Go" mobile game. The character of Detective Pikachu was first introduced in a video game released in Japan.

No news about the cast of characters has been revealed as of yet.

Legendary is teaming up with Universal Pictures to release "Detective Pikachu" outside Japan, while Toho is in charge of distribution of the film franchise within Japan.

There have been rumors of a live-action Pokemon movie for a while, but this recent development comes as a perfect timing due to the massive popularity of "Pokemon Go." The release of the said mobile game re-ignited long-time fans' love for the franchise as well as drew in new fans to the world of Pokemon.

Pokemon was first created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1995 as the concept for a franchise of video games, TV shows, trading cards and comic books. The first Pokemon movie was "Pokemon: The First Movie - Mewtwo Strikes Back," which was released in 1998. 19 Pokemon movies have been released since then.

The deal for the rights was brokered by Don McGowan, General Counsel at The Pokemon Company International. Legendary Studios was repped by Chief Operating Officer Marty Willhite, Vice President Corporate Counsel Daniel Feinberg and Senior Vice President, Business and Legal Affairs Mike Ross.

No release date for "Detective Pikachu" live action movie has been confirmed.

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Topics Pokemon