While the video game market annually makes tons of money, adapting them to film is another story entirely. Countless video game movies have flopped critically, including Warcraft, Assassin's Creed, and Super Mario Brothers. But Warner Bros. and Pokemon managed to do the seemingly impossible with Detective Pikachu, which made a whopping $433 million at the box office. A sequel seemed like a no brainer given the movie's success, but the studio hasn't given any indication of this coming to fruition. And even the cast is getting frustrated with the lack of news.
Detective Pikachu was a star vehicle for Ryan Reynolds, who voiced the titular coffee addicted Pokemon. But the cast member who got the most physical screen time was Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom actor Justice Smith. Smith played Tim with conviction throughout the movie's runtime, giving a great performance despite largely working with green screens. He was recently asked about the film's possible sequel, to which the actor said:
I wish somebody would tell me something. I have no idea, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
Well, that was honest. It looks like Justice Smith is totally in the dark regarding the future of the Detective Pikachu franchise. He's on the same boat as us, desperately hoping for some update about a possible sequel for the video game adaptation.
Justice Smith's comments come from his recent conversation with ComingSoon. While promoting his new Netflix movie All the Bright Places, the conversation eventually turned to his role as Tim in Detective Pikachu. Pokemon's iconography and Ryan Reynolds' quick talking Pikachu helped the movie become a critical and box office success, despite the genre's bad luck in the past.
Detective Pikachu made $433 million on a $150 million, making it a clear success of a blockbuster. And since the moviemaking business is ultimately about making money, a sequel seemed like an obvious choice for Warner Bros. Although given the first movie's ending, a sequel would likely require a larger commitment from Ryan Reynolds.
In his same conversation Justice Smith was pushed about possible knowing more than he let un, to which the young actor insisted, saying:
No, I promise! I wish, I wish I knew.
Alas, Warner Bros.' possible plans for Detective Pikachu 2 remain a mystery. Luckily for Justice Smith, he's been keeping busy as an actor. And he's got another blockbuster sequel in the works as hell be reprising his role as Franklin Webb in the recently titled Jurassic World: Dominion. That movie is about to start filming, so perhaps Detective Pikachu's sequel will follow. Timing would likely depend on the busy schedule of Ryan Reynolds, and how much time on set he would be available for.
You can watch Justice Smith in All the Bright Places on Netflix February 28th, and Jurassic World: Dominion in theaters June 11th 2021. In the meantime, check out our 2020 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
