Pokemon: Detective Pikachu live action movie confirmed

A live action Pokemon movie is to begin production in 2017, Legendary Entertainment has confirmed. The film will focus on Detective Pikachu - a new character in the universe, introduced through a video game in Japan earlier this year. The news comes following the huge international success of the Pokemon Go game in recent weeks. Its popularity led to a 25% jump in shares for Nintendo - part owner of the brand. Pokemon was first released as a video game in 1996 and led to an animated TV series and film franchise, plus merchandise including trading cards - which became a craze in UK schools in the early 2000s. It is not the first film Legendary Entertainment has produced that is based on a video game - the company recently released Warcraft in cinemas, based on the successful role playing game World of Warcraft.