Don't Get Your Hopes Up For Detective Pikachu 2

Movies based on video games have had a rocky past, but one of the better ones in recent memory was definitely Detective Pikachu. While it certainly didn't wind up on any year-end best lists, it was a solid enough for a genre that routinely churns out duds. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like a sequel is happening, despite Legendary Entertainment's previous announcements to the contrary.

Indeed, even though Legendary Entertainment announced that a Detective Pikachu sequel was in the works months before the before the original premiered in theaters, things have gone quiet on the Detective Pikachu 2 front. In a recent interview with Inverse, Justice Smith – one of the stars of Detective Pikachu – indicated that a sequel probably isn't happening.

"I would love to participate in Detective Pikachu 2," Smith said. "I don't know if it's going to happen. I think we have to just kind of bury our hopes. I don't think it's going to happen. I really hope so though. Honestly, I'm such a huge fan, who knows, who knows? I hope so."

That doesn't really inspire a lot of hope that the plans for a sequel are proceeding well. Judging by Smith's statement, it's at least safe to say that he hasn't been approached about the sequel yet, so one may be in the works without him. Still, Smith played the lead human character in the original movie, so if there's a character who's going to return for the sequel outside of Ryan Reynolds' Pikachu, it's likely Smith's Tim Goodman.

Of course, it's always possible that Legendary Entertainment is still planning a sequel but the COVID-19 pandemic delayed development significantly. With that said, it's now been two years since the original Detective Pikachu debuted, so with no real news about the sequel since that January 2019 announcement, we probably shouldn't get our hopes up.