Ryan Reynolds will be starring as Detective Pikachu himself, alongside Justice Smith as the Pokemon's human companion. The pair's goal is to solve the case of the latter's missing father. May 10th will see the release of this live-action
Pokemon film.
While the reaction to the film's first trailer for almost unanimously positive, with anticipation of the film skyrocketing, the most contentious aspect would prove to be Reynolds in the role of the titular creature. Both the voice itself as well as personality of Detective Pikachu was surprising to some, many comparing it to, another of Reynolds' well-known roles,
Deadpool.
Comicbook.com recently spoke with the starring actor wherein he explained that he contributed much more than his voice to the role. Thus, the comparisons to Reynolds himself and his previous roles make a lot of sense. Asked how much influence he had over the script, the actor stated that he had a lot (and believes that it's the reason why he was chosen to play the character).
"I think they hired me for some of that, a whole bunch of us took passes at the script -- I also took a pass at the script. We all got to kind of shape it the way we wanted; I got to make sure the voice sort of worked the way I think it could work for me. Inevitably, I'm at the mercy of the filmmakers."
Detective Pikachu is set to release in theatres on May 10th, 2019.