Although Pokemon: Detective Pikachu is looking to appeal to as many demographics as possible (after all, the folks who enjoyed Pokemon when the franchise first hit the scene are all adults), naturally the movie is primarily being marketed towards younger moviegoers, hence why it has a PG rating. However, if churning out an R-rated Detective Pikachu movie was on the table, Ryan Reynolds has some ideas for such adult-oriented content. Reynolds said:
I think if you could remake a Pikachu version of Mean Streets, that might be kind of fun. Or Goodfellas.
Martin Scorsese-inspired Pokemon movies would definitely raise some eyebrows and get people’s attention. If the world of Pokemon: Detective Pikachu is anything like the Pokemon video game and anime worlds, then Team Rocket is running rampant, so it’s not that much of a leap to imagine them sending their Pocket Monsters to ensure their rivals are sleeping with the Magikarp.
Alas, Pokemon is a family-friendly franchise, so unless any of you are willing to write an R-rated fanfic of Detective Pikachu where bullets are flying just as much as lightning bolts are, we’re out of luck on the Mean Streets and Goodfellas-themed Pokemon movies that Ryan Reynolds suggested to Comicbook.com. However, that’s not to say that Pokemon: Detective Pikachu isn’t dipping its toes into more adult territory. You’ll recall that in one of the trailers, Reynolds’s Pikachu tells Justice Smith’s Tim Goodman to get him “the hell” out of his cage fight with a Charizard.
It’s also worth noting that after being hired onto Pokemon: Detective Pikachu, Ryan Reynolds considered taking the voice of his Pikachu in a different direction and offered to make the crime-solving Pokemon sound like an old-school, Columbo-style gumshoe. However, the Pokemon: Detective Pikachu politely shot Reynolds’ idea down, so instead Pikachu sounds just like the actor in everyday life, which the regular moviegoer can more easily recognize.
Of course, in a world full of creatures this powerful and humans calling the shots, naturally there’s still going to be crime and danger. The main story revolves around this deerstalker-wearing Pikachu and Tim Goodman (who is the only human who can understand this particular electrically-charged mouse-thing) investigating the disappearance of Tim’s father, Harry. Along the way, they’ll meet reporter Lucy Stevens (played by Kathryn Newton) and her Psyduck, and together they’ll uncover a conspiracy that threatens all the Pokemon in the world.
So far Pokemon: Detective Pikachu has earned a fair amount of positive reception, and box office estimates from March placed it at making between $75-$90 million opening weekend. Looking to the future, a Detective Pikachu sequel is already in the works and there’s the potential for this film series to evolve into a full-blown cinematic universe.
Pokemon: Detective Pikachu blasts into theaters this Friday, May 10. If you’re curious about what other movies are coming out later in the year, look through our 2019 release schedule.
