The first trailer for Detective Pikachu is here, and it looks just as puzzling as you might have imagined. Welcome to Ryme City, a futuristic place where humans and Pokémon coexist in some form of harmony. The Who Framed Roger Rabbit riff of a plot revolves around Tim (Justice Smith), a young man who stumbles upon Detective Pikachu—i.e., regular Pikachu in a cute little detective hat, given voice by Ryan Reynolds. Though most Pokémon can speak only their own names, Tim actually understands Pikachu when he speaks, forging an instant, if somewhat begrudging bond between the two. Pikachu hitches himself to Tim, determined to help the young man find his father, a successful private eye whos gone missing. “If you want to find your pops, Im your best bet,” Detective Pikachu declares, before he and Tim set off to communicate with other Pokémon of interest. The trailer shows snippets of several hyper-real, C.G.I. Pokémon, including a furious Charizard, Mr. Mime, Bulbasaur, and Jigglypuff.
Reynolds tweeted out the trailer on Monday. “I think we all knew Id wind up as a miniature detective repeatedly saying the same two words,” he wrote. “Just didnt think itd be this soon.”
The film also stars Kathryn Newton (Big Little Lies) as Lucy, a reporter who helps Tim on his mission, and Ken Watanabe as Lt. Yoshida, a mentor figure who reminds Tim of his old wannabe-Pokémon-trainer days. Theres no sign of a Danny DeVito cameo yet, but it would be nice if that were to happen—just saying! Based on the trailer alone, that also does seem like the sort of thing that could happen, especially given the films comedy-leaning ways. Its full of kooky potential, this one.
Detective Pikachu, directed by Rob Letterman and co-written by Letterman and Nicole Perlman, will hit theaters on May 10, 2019.
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