A few years before The Last of Us was being hailed as the greatest videogame adaptation ever made, we'd say that accolade deserved to go to Detective Pikachu. The first live-action Pokémon movie received positive reviews from fans and critics alike and earned a respectable $340 million at the worldwide box office.
A sequel seemed like a given and was actually announced prior to the first instalment's release in 2019. Sonic the Hedgehog scribe Oren Uziel was attached to write the movie, though Polygon is now reporting that while he did end up penning an outline and screenplay, he's no longer working on the project.
However, a representative for Legendary Entertainment tells the site that Detective Pikachu 2 remains "in active development." The studio declined to reveal any further details, including who is working on it, while The Pokémon Company went with a firm "no comment."
Detective Pikachu writers Benji Samit and Dan Hernandez have recently confirmed that they're not currently involved, and we're guessing these apparent delays are down to how protective The Pokémon Company is with the property.
We also can't help but wonder whether the news that broke back in June 2021 may have something to do with the Detective Pikachu franchise being sidelined.
As you may recall, Netflix entered a deal with The Pokémon Company that summer to develop a live-action TV series. Legendary, meanwhile, is now working with Sony Pictures instead of Warner Bros., and as the latter co-financed Detective Pikachu, there's a chance the sequel is caught in the middle of a lot of complicated red tape.
The fact the movie hasn't been completely scrapped is a positive, though, and we're hoping this will lead to some news on Netflix's plans for the franchise. You'd think live-action Pokémon would be all over our screens by now, but the pandemic seems to have slowed things down on that front, so we may continue having to be patient.
Do you hope Detective Pikachu 2 happens?