Variety has learned that The Get Down star Justice Smith will take on the lead role in the upcoming live-action Pokémon movie titled Detective Pikachu. The film will be directed by Rob Letterman with Nicole Perlman and Alex Hirsch handling the script. Perlman co-wrote 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy and will assist on Captain Marvel which is slated for a 2019 release.
Smith turned in a breakout performance on the short-lived Netflix show The Get Down after director Baz Luhrmann selected him to play the role of Ezekiel "Books" Figuero. His exceptional work on the show got the attention of director J.A. Bayona, who gave him a part on Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.
Amid the Pokémon Go craze sweeping the nation last summer, Legendary Entertainment tried to strike while the iron was hot and worked out a deal to land the rights to create a live-action film of the popular video game. Details surrounding the plot of Detective Pikachu are unknown at the moment.
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