When Nintendo first revealed its narrative-driven adventure game Detective Pikachu for the 3DS, fans were immediately taken aback by the game's talking Pikachu. Realizing the potential of a fully-voiced Pikachu, they then made a petition to have Danny DeVito voice the titular character, amassing thousands of signatures in the process. Unfortunately, Danny DeVito as Pikachu never came to pass in the 3DS game, but as it turns out, he could have played the character in the upcoming Detective Pikachu movie.

According to Detective Pikachu visual effects producer Greg Baxter, a number of celebrity voices were tested for the titular character before they ultimately decided to cast Ryan Reynolds as Pikachu. This included Danny DeVito, whose lines as Frank from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia were paired with an animated Pikachu to see if his distinct voice would be a good fit for world's most popular Pokemon.

"Yeah, we threw some of his ... Always Sunny in Philadelphia ... in as well. mean, we really tried a range of actors. Different pitches, different sounds of voice, different ... big, small, everywhere in between."

It's possible that the Detective Pikachu crew also tested the voice of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson for the character. Prior to the announcement that Ryan Reynolds would play Pikachu, a rumor floating around suggested that The Rock was on deck to play the electric mouse, but nothing ever came of it.

While it would have been interesting to see The Rock or Danny DeVito as Pikachu, it seems like Ryan Reynolds is doing well in the role. The reception to the Detective Pikachu trailers have been fairly positive, with fans praising not only Reynolds' comedic performance as Pikachu, but the impressive special effects and the realistic-looking Pokemon as well.

This positive buzz surrounding the Detective Pikachu movie could translate to massive box office success. The film is set to be one of the biggest blockbusters of the year, and if it's successful as many predict, then it could very well launch Legendary's Pokemon Cinematic Universe.

Before Pokemon fans get too excited about the idea of a Pokemon Cinematic Universe, though, they should wait and see if Detective Pikachu lives up to the hype. And if the Pokemon Cinematic Universe becomes as long-running as the Marvel Cinematic Universe, perhaps there's room for Danny DeVito to lend his talents as a human character or different Pokemon in some film down the road.

Detective Pikachu will premiere in theaters on May 10.

Source: Nerdist