With a few months left before the film adaptation of Detective Pikachu arrives in theaters, news has broken that the film studio is already gearing up for a direct sequel. Detective Pikachu 2 has brought 22 Jump Street's Oren Uziel on to write the sequel's script.

Uziel has produced and written a variety of film and TV projects, but he's also no stranger to video game adaptations. The writer recently finished working on Paramount's upcoming film adaptation of Sonic the Hedgehog, which is set to release later this year. In addition, Uziel is also credited with writing the script for an episode of Mortal Kombat: Legacy, and its preceding short film, Mortal Kombat: Rebirth.

Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment moving forward with Detective Pikachu 2 prior to the first film's release may be a small risk for the companies, but it's likely to be one that pays off. Pokemon is, after all, a world-renowned media empire all on its own at this point, and the reactions to the Detective Pikachu trailer have been primarily positive so far. The trailer has also seen tremendous popularity on YouTube, with over 55 million views for its official upload thus far.

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At this time, details on Detective Pikachu 2 are sparse beyond choosing a writer. While Ryan Reynolds is a shoo-in to reprise his role as Pikachu in the sequel, there's plenty of material from the original Pokemon games and TV series to use in an adaptation, so whether or not the first film's live-action stars will return isn't as clear.

While details on Detective Pikachu 2 are mostly under wraps for now, news from Legendary Entertainment regarding the overall Pokemon film universe haven't been quite as sparse. Rumors recently broke that the company is working on a Detective Pikachu spin-off, potentially focusing on Mewtwo. At the same time, a live-action film adaptation of Pokemon Red and Blue is also said to be in development.

Pokemon - in all its incarnations - has shown that it has extraordinary lasting popularity, decades after its initial launch. The success of Hollywood's first foray into adapting Pokemon into a live-action/CGI film remains to be seen, but it's clear at this point that Pokemon's reach will continue to expand for many years to come.

Detective Pikachu is set to release on May 10, 2019.

Source: Hollywood Reporter