JANUARY 19, 2018 12:47pm PT by Borys Kit
Ken Watanabe Joins Ryan Reynolds in Pokemon Movie 'Detective Pikachu' (Exclusive)

Justice Smith, who will be seen in the upcoming 'Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom,' and 'Big Little Lies' actress Kathryn Newton are already cast.

Ken Watanabe is joining Ryan Reynolds in Detective Pikachu, Legendary Entertainment’s live-action Pokemon movie.

In addition to Reynolds, Watanabe — who will slip into a role specifically created for the movie — joins Justice Smith, who will be seen in the upcoming Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, and Big Little Lies actress Kathryn Newton in the movie based on the gaming franchise.

Rob Letterman (Goosebumps) is directing the project, which is due to start shooting this month in London.

The concept of Pokemon sees players acting as trainers who collect cute but powerful monsters called Pokemon in order to compete in battle tournaments.

Pikachu is a species of Pokemon, while Detective Pikachu the character is a peculiar sort from the Pikachu set, a self-styled investigator who is good at finding things.

The story is set into motion when Smith's character's father is kidnapped, forcing the teen to team up with Pikachu in order to find him.

Watanabe will play a character named Detective Yoshida.

Nicole Perlman and Alex Hirsch wrote the script with Eric Pearson and Tom McCarthy having completed production polishes.

Mary Parent and Cale Boyter are producing for Legendary. Joe Caracciolo Jr. and Pokemon’s Tsunekazu Ishihara are executive producing. Legendary’s Alexandra Mendes will co-produce.

Watanabe’s work is well-known at Legendary as he appeared in the company’s Godzilla and the upcoming sequel Godzilla: King of Monsters.

The actor was nominated for an Oscar for his work in the Tom Cruise drama The Last Samurai, appeared in Batman Begins and has a voice role in Wes Anderson’s upcoming Isle of Dogs.

He is repped by WME and ROAR.

JANUARY 30, 2018 10:33am PT by Mia Galuppo
Ryan Reynolds' 'Detective Pikachu' Adds Bill Nighy, Chris Geere

Bill Nighy and You're the Worst actor Chris Geere are the latest to join Legendary's Detective Pikachu.

Ryan Reynolds will star as the titular Pikachu in the action adventure film that also features Justice Smith, who will be seen in the upcoming Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Big Little Lies actress Kathryn Newton and Ken Watanabe.

The story is set into motion when Smith's character's father is kidnapped, forcing the teen to team up with Pikachu and a young journalist (Newton) in order to find him.

Rob Letterman (Goosebumps) is directing the project, which is due to start shooting this month in London.

Nicole Perlman wrote the script with Letterman, with Eric Pearson and Tom McCarthy having completed production polishes. Mary Parent and Cale Boyter are producing for Legendary. Joe Caracciolo Jr. and Pokemon’s Tsunekazu Ishihara are executive producing. Legendary’s Alexandra Mendes will co-produce.

Nighy, whose credits include Love Actually and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, is repped by CAA and Jackoway Tyerman.

Geere will star in the fifth and final season of the critically acclaimed FXX series, due out this year. He is repped by UTA and Creative Partners.

FEBRUARY 01, 2018 11:46am PT by Borys Kit
Suki Waterhouse Joins Ryan Reynolds in Pokemon Movie 'Detective Pikachu' (Exclusive)

Suki Waterhouse, who stars in Assassination Nation, the movie that set the biggest deal at this year's Sundance Film Festival, has joined the cast of Detective Pikachu, Legendary Entertainment's live-action Pokemon movie.

The movie, currently shooting with Rob Letterman in the director's chair, is shaping up to have one of the more eclectic studio casts of the year. Ryan Reynolds is starring in the movie based on the game franchise, along with Justice Smith, who will be seen in the upcoming Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, and Big Little Lies actress Kathryn Newton. Also on board are Ken Watanabe, Bill Nighy and Chris Geere.

The concept of Pokemon sees players acting as trainers who collect cute but powerful monsters called Pokemon in order to compete in battle tournaments. Pikachu is a species of Pokemon, while Det. Pikachu stands unique among them, a self-styled investigator who is good at finding things.

The story is set into motion when Smith's character's father is kidnapped, forcing the teen to team up with Pikachu to find him.

Waterhouse's character details are being kept secret.

Mary Parent and Cale Boyter are producing the movie for Legendary.

Waterhouse's social media-centric thriller Assassination Nation was picked up by Neon and Agbo in a $10 million-plus deal at Sundance. The rising actress has also appeared in Insurgent, The Bad Batch and Starz's period miniseries The White Princess. She is repped by CAA, Independent Talent Group and Untitled Entertainment.

JULY 25, 2018 8:50am PT by Tatiana Siegel
Ryan Reynolds' 'Detective Pikachu' Moves From Universal to Warner Bros. (Exclusive)

After parting ways in 2013, Legendary and Warner Bros. are back in business.

The Burbank studio is taking over distribution duties on Legendary's upcoming Pokemon movie Detective Pikachu from Universal. In addition, Warners is taking a stake in the film that features Ryan Reynolds as the titular character.

Sources say the move is a precursor to Legendary's moving its distribution deal back to Warners. For months, speculation has swirled around the fate of the the four-year-old Universal-Legendary deal that expires Dec. 31, with the expectation that Universal would not renew the partnership. Universal declined to comment.

The Universal-Legendary relationship had sputtered over the past year, culminating with Legendary's Dwayne Johnson starrer Skyscraper, which sources say will ultimately be a money loser. Legendary also has put up large chunks of the budget for most of the films in Universal's slate over the past four years, including summer hit Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, which has earned $1.2 billion to date. Legendary has a stake in BlacKkKlansman, a film from Universal's Focus Features label. That would mark its final film with Universal.

Detective Pikachu is not expected to move from the May 10 date that Universal had carved out.

Since former lawyer Josh Grode took the reins at Legendary in March, he has put his stamp on the studio and last month inked a $1 billion senior secured revolving credit facility led by J.P. Morgan. And one of the first orders of business was locking down a distribution partner. Though other studios are said to be in the hunt, Warners would be something of a natural fit. Legendary and Warner Bros. called it quits after an eight-year marriage in which the company founded by Thomas Tull backed such Warners films as Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy and Man of Steel.

Warners' previous arrangement with Legendary allowed it to cherry-pick the movies it financed. As Grode continues talks with Warner Bros. for a deal that would extend beyond Detective Pikachu, it is unclear whether it would resemble the previous Legendary-Warners arrangement.

For its part, Legendary is ramping up under Mary Parent on the film side and Nick Pepper on the TV side and focusing its attention on the studio's Chinese partners like Wanda to maximize distribution opportunities and profitability in the growing Asian market. Though Skyscraper was not embraced domestically, it has earned $49 million so far in China.