Detective Pikachu Director Explains Why Ash Ketchum Isn't in the Movie

Believe it or not, Pokemon is finally getting a live-action movie, and a lot of fans are curious about what to expect with Detective Pikachu. The main title character will be spending some time with a human throughout the film, but sad to say, he won't be the franchise's favorite protagonist Ash Ketchum.

Director Rob Letterman explains to IGN why the studio decided to forgo Ash's character for the film. Letterman says:

"The Pokémon Company, they've already made many, many movies of Ash, and they came to Legendary with this idea of using a new character. So when I came on board, I was pitched this character of Detective Pikachu, and I fell in love with the story behind it. It's a really great story. It was something with a lot of heart, and it was just very unique. And because there's already been so much work done with Ash, for the first live-action movie I thought it was a really good idea to try something new with a new character but bake it into the universe of Pokémon. So it still follows all the rules, and we get to see a lot of our favorite things."

In lieu of Ash, the film will give us a human lead in the form of Tim Goodman (Justice Smith). Tim will be joined by a reporter named Lucy Stevens (Kathryn Newton) who has a Psyduck for a partner. It's also worth mentioning that the film's biggest star, and the voice of Detective Pikachu is none other than Deadpool's very own Ryan Reynolds.

For now, we still know very little about the film overall, but with an early release next year, we should be getting our first teaser before 2018 ends.

Catch Detective Pikachu in cinemas May 10, 2019.

See Also: Pokemon Detective Pikachu Reveals Official Logo, Major Battle Scene Details