Will The Popularity Of ‘Pokemon Go’ Fast Track A Live-Action ‘Pokemon’ Movie?
It’s been just over a week sincePokemon Godebuted on mobile devices and the game has taken the world by storm (at least in the territories in which it’s been made available so far).Pokemonhas always been a popular Nintendo property, but the popularity of this game is something fascinating and wonderful. People are leaving their houses at all hours of the day, walking around their neighborhoods and cities, meeting strangers, just so they can find Pokemon. Sure,some have used it for evil, but overall, this new game is paving the way for a new kind of gaming that incorporates the real world like no other game has done before.
So with the popularity ofPokemon Gobeing off the charts, is there a chance we might see a live-action Pokemon movie get off the ground sooner than later?
You may remember a few months ago thatPokemonwas at the center of a bidding warin Hollywood. The rights were being battled over like a Pokemon Gym by Warner Bros. Pictures (who distributedPokemon: The First Movieall the way back in 1999), Sony Pictures, and Legendary Pictures, with the latter emerging as the frontrunner.
However, since that story emerged, we never heard if the rights toPokemonended up in a studio’s hands or not. But this week,Deadlinerevealed that Legendary is indeed nearing a deal to the rights forPokemonto be turned into a live-action movie.
At first, it might seem ill-advised to have a motion picture studio owned by a Chinese media company adapting a Japanese property since relations between China and Japan are always tense. But Legendary is coming off massive success withWarcraft, themost successful video game movie of all time, so Nintendo probably doesn’t have anything to worry about in that regard.
As someone who previously had no interest inPokemonwhatsoever, never being curious enough to play the game or read the cards, the constant social media buzz aboutPokemon Goinspired me to check it out, and I’ve been playing like crazy for a few days now. There are plenty other people I’ve talked to in the same boat, so this could be huge forPokemonas a brand, and that means more box office dollars for Legendary Pictures as well. Stay tuned to see what happens with aPokemonmovie as time goes on.
