The phrase "live-action Pikachu" evokes an absolutely startling image, and the IRL interpretation that debuted in the first trailer for Detective Pikachu isn't far off. Ryan Reynolds voices the furry pokémon in the latest adaptation. Yes, I said furry.
That's perhaps the most shocking part of the trailer, which introduces us to the story of Tim (Justice Smith), who joins forces with Pikachu (who is unexplainably a detective) to find his missing father. Tim understands Pikachu even though the rest of the humans cannot, making them a formidable pair who will go on to do incred... sorry, but I just can't get over the fact that Pikachu has fur.
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Neither can the rest of the internet. As soon as the trailer dropped, Twitter was ablaze with reactions to this modern version of the animated character.
i didn't actually know pikachu had fur. makes sense but i hadn't thought about it
— kris' new dad (@twilighttram) November 12, 2018
I don’t think I was ready for a furry pikachu pic.twitter.com/dzEmmbGzdk
— Jᴏʀᴅᴀɴ Cʟᴀʀᴋ (@howyouyougood) November 12, 2018
Detective Pikachu is just a porg pic.twitter.com/NBhd470OCz
— Dicknut (@WhiteDanDevito) November 12, 2018
Although fans have also noticed some cool details about the interpretation:
Oh and I did notice it seems Detective Pikachu seems to have a white belly which ok I'll give it extra points for that because its a cool throwback to Pikachu's original design. pic.twitter.com/wMk9z7XuKi
— Eugene is beans (@FamiliarAlien) November 12, 2018
And it's not just Pikachu who got this realistic makeover. All of your favorite Pokémon have suddenly come to life in surprising ways:
you: wow very confused about how hot pikachu is now
— Alex Zalben (@azalben) November 12, 2018
me, an intellectual: gets thug jigglypuff immediately tattooed on my face pic.twitter.com/5h97v3YBLN
There are so many more questions that need answers about Pikachu's new detective gig (Was Pikachu always a detective? Why is he one now?) and what else the movie has in store. Unfortunately, we won't get them until May 11, 2019, when it hits theaters. However, there's so much still to dive into in the trailer below.