Ryan Reynolds will be starring as Detective Pikachu in a live-action spin-off movie from the Pokemon franchise, it has been reported.

According to an article in Variety on Wednesday (December 6th), the 41 year old star of Deadpool has signed on to play the iconic Pokemon character in Detective Pikachu, a live-action movie that acts as an adjunct to the popular video game.

Reynolds will be playing the titular role via motion capture technology, in a film that will also star Justice Smith, who will be seen in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, and 'Big Little Lies' actress Kathryn Newton.

Ryan ReynoldsRyan Reynolds will play 'Detective Pikachu'

For those not in the know, ‘Detective Pikachu’ is a talking, intelligent version of the yellow thunder-mouse who solves mysterious crimes with the help of a boy named Tim Goodman. It was a video game released in Japan in February 2016 for the Nintendo 3DS, but it has not yet seen a release in other territories.

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Pokémon first appeared as a video game way back in 1996, and its massive worldwide success led to an animated TV series and film franchise. Its merchandise once included trading cards that became a craze in schools in the early noughties.

Goosebumps director Rob Letterman is attached to direct the project, and filming is set to commence in London in January 2018.

The plot will apparently revolve around the father of Justice Smith’s character being kidnapped, leaving Smith to team up with Reynolds’ Pikachu in order to find out who is behind it.

It couldn’t be further away from Reynolds’ upcoming role, which sees him reprise the spandex-clad, potty-mouthed superhero in the sequel to Deadpool, which opens in cinemas on June 1st, 2018.

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