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Legendary’s DETECTIVE PIKACHU Movie Switches to Warner Bros.

A couple years ago, Legendary Pictures and The Pokémon Company struck a deal to create live action movies based on the Pokémon franchise. The first installment is Detective Pikachu, a live action/CGI hybrid based on the recent video game. Ryan Reynolds will voice the titular Pokémon, with Justice Smith, Ken Watanabe, and Rita Ora also in the cast. Now, the film has a new distributor.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Detective Pikachu is moving from Universal to Warner Bros. for distribution. This comes as Legendary is looking to renew its distribution deal with WB, after signing with Universal in 2013. While Legendary and WB collaborated a couple times since – specifically with Interstellar and the MonsterVerse – it looks like the two will be reuniting.

Legendary’s deal with Universal expires on December 31st, with their last movie being BlacKkKlansman. There is no plan to renew this deal. Legendary and Universal’s partnership hasn’t exactly been great, with movies like Pacific Rim: Uprising and Skyscraper underperforming. Meanwhile, Legendary and WB’s partnership has resulted in big moneymakers like The Dark Knight Trilogy, 300, and Man of Steel.

Stay tuned for more news as we have it. Detective Pikachu hits theaters on May 10th, 2019.

Founder and Editor-in-Chief of WOBAM! Entertainment.