Pokemon live-action movie is coming

The movie studio Legendary Entertainment plans to launch the first live-action Pokemon movie franchise.

The first Pokemon movie, called Detective Pikachu, opens production in 2017.

The game Pokemon Go became a global phenomenon when it launched this month. Players search for digital creatures that pop up on smartphone screens as they move through real-world locations. The character Detective Pikachu was introduced in a video game in Japan.

Universal Pictures will handle distribution of the film outside Japan as it does with Legendary’s other films.