Detective Pikachu 2 movie is reportedly moving closer to reality

A sequel to 2019’s Pokémon Detective Pikachu movie is reportedly moving closer to reality.

According to Deadline, director Jonathan Krisel (who previously worked on ‘Portlandia’ and ‘Baskets’ for FX) is in negotiations to direct the live-action sequel for Legendary Entertainment.

Chris Galletta (‘The Kings of Summer’) will write the script for the follow-up, it’s claimed, and the publication believes actor Ryan Reynolds – who appeared in the first movie – will have some part to play in the sequel.

Released in May 2019, Detective Pikachu starred Smith as Tim Goodman, a former Pokémon trainer who teams up with a talking Pikachu (voiced by Ryan Reynolds) to investigate the death of his father.

The movie was a box office hit, grossing $430 million at the worldwide box office.

The lead of the first film, Justice Smith, previously stated that he didn’t believe a second would happen.

Smith told Inverse in 2021: “I would love to participate in Detective Pikachu 2 [but] I don’t know if it’s going to happen.

“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. Honestly, I’m such a huge fan, who knows, who knows? I hope so.”

The Pokémon Company announced in 2019 that a follow-up to 2016’s Detective Pikachu game is in development for Nintendo Switch at series collaborator Creatures Inc. It will continue the story of the original 3DS game.