So far, so good: Pokémon film lands writers
Movie will be live-action version of augmented reality game
Pokémon was first released in Japan in 1996. PHOTO: FILE
Nicole Perlman and Alex Hirsch — writers of the 2014 superhero hit Guardians of the Galaxy – are currently in negotiations to write a live-action Pokémon picture based on the upcoming game Detective Pikachu, reported Variety.
The news comes soon after the announcement that Legendary – a global entertainment powerhouse – has landed the rights to the Pokémon franchise, after they were shopped around in early July. The deal was sealed just two weeks after the Pokémon Go app was released and became a worldwide phenomenon, so much so that it led to a 25% jump in the stocks of its part-owner Nintendo.
Universal Pictures will be handling the distribution of the live-action film outside of Japan, as it has previously done with other films by Legendary for years. The Pokémon Company’s long-time movie collaborator, Toho, will handle distribution of the film franchise across Japan, as it has similarly done in its partnership with Legendary on the reboot of the Godzilla franchise.
Perlman has previously cut her teeth in Marvel’s writing room, penning comic-book hits such as Thor and Guardians of the Galaxy. The comics giant has now tasked her with penning the forthcoming Captain Marvel film, along with Inside Out scribe Meg LeFauve. She is also helping to develop the third Sherlock Holmes movie with Team Downey.
Pokémon was introduced in Japan back in 1996 and has since, sold 279 million video games worldwide, with 21.5 billion cards shipped to 74 countries and an animated series spanning 19 seasons. The augmented reality game allows players to capture and train the Pokémon, while the hugely popular Pokémon Go app recently saw the pocket monsters surge back into pop culture consciousnesses.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 18th, 2016.
The news comes soon after the announcement that Legendary – a global entertainment powerhouse – has landed the rights to the Pokémon franchise, after they were shopped around in early July. The deal was sealed just two weeks after the Pokémon Go app was released and became a worldwide phenomenon, so much so that it led to a 25% jump in the stocks of its part-owner Nintendo.
Universal Pictures will be handling the distribution of the live-action film outside of Japan, as it has previously done with other films by Legendary for years. The Pokémon Company’s long-time movie collaborator, Toho, will handle distribution of the film franchise across Japan, as it has similarly done in its partnership with Legendary on the reboot of the Godzilla franchise.
Perlman has previously cut her teeth in Marvel’s writing room, penning comic-book hits such as Thor and Guardians of the Galaxy. The comics giant has now tasked her with penning the forthcoming Captain Marvel film, along with Inside Out scribe Meg LeFauve. She is also helping to develop the third Sherlock Holmes movie with Team Downey.
Pokémon was introduced in Japan back in 1996 and has since, sold 279 million video games worldwide, with 21.5 billion cards shipped to 74 countries and an animated series spanning 19 seasons. The augmented reality game allows players to capture and train the Pokémon, while the hugely popular Pokémon Go app recently saw the pocket monsters surge back into pop culture consciousnesses.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 18th, 2016.