Vancouverite Ryan Reynolds is slated to star as Pikachu in an upcoming Pokémon live-action movie, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Justice Smith (of Jurassic World) and Kathryn Newton (of Big Little Lies) will co-star in the feature; Rob Letterman (Goosebumps) will direct.
The movie, Detective Pikachu, is an adaptation of a Japanese video game of the same title. In this story, Pikachu actually speaks. The video game was never released outside Japan.
Instead of wearing makeup or a costume, Reynolds will be motion captured for the role, much like Andy Serkis did while playing Gollum in Lord of the Rings. This means Pikachu’s facial expressions and demeanor will be captured directly from Gosling’s own.
The film is due to start shooting in January.