Pokemon: Detective Pikachu digital, Blu-ray release details confirmed

Here's the latest news on the film starring Ryan Reynolds, as well as Blu-ray release date, reviews and more.

Bonnie Burton

Journalist Bonnie Burton writes about movies, TV shows, comics, science and robots. She is the author of the books Live or Die: Survival Hacks, Wizarding World: Movie Magic Amazing Artifacts, The Star Wars Craft Book, Girls Against Girls, Draw Star Wars, Planets in Peril and more! E-mail Bonnie.

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Bonnie Burton

June 26, 2019 4:52 a.m. PT

2 min read

Ryan Reynolds voices the furry, yellow sleuth in Detective Pikachu.

Warner Bros.

Not all detectives are hard-boiled sociopaths with excellent observation skills. Some detectives aren't even human, as is the case with Pokemon: Detective Pikachu.

In the film, Deadpool actor Ryan Reynolds lends his voice to the beloved yellow main character, Detective Pikachu. Actor Chris Geere (You're The Worst) plays the character Roger Clifford.

The movie centers on the search for a human detective named Harry Goodman who goes missing, prompting his son Tim to find out what happened.

The digital release of Pokemon: Detective Pikachu will be available on July 23 in the US on various platforms including Google Play and Apple TV, among others. The film will be released on Blu-ray and DVD in the US on Aug. 6 and in the UK on Sept. 16.

What we know about the plot

Helping Tim in the investigation is Harry's former Pokemon partner, Detective Pikachu -- described as "a hilariously wise-cracking, adorable super-sleuth who is a puzzlement even to himself."

The film is a mix of CGI Pokemon creatures and live-action humans. Pokemon creatures and humans live together side by side.

In addition to Detective Pikachu, the movie includes beloved Pokemon characters Lickitung, Growlithe the fire pup, Bulbasaur and Psyduck.

The Detective Pikachu poster gives a glimpse of all the Pokemon creatures that will be in the movie.
Warner Bros. Pictures

More Detective Pikachu

Who's making it?

Directed by Rob Letterman, Detective Pikachu is a spinoff from the Pokemon gaming franchise, which includes the Detective Pikachu game.

The movie is co-written by Letterman with Dan Hernandez, Benji Samit and Derek Connolly, from a story by Hernandez, Samit and Nicole Perlman.

The film is also a Japanese-American joint venture produced by Warner Bros., Legendary Pictures and The Pokemon Company, in association with Toho.

pokemonduck — Detective Pikachu gets a Psyduck hug in the latest trailer.
Video screenshot by Bonnie Burton/CNET

When did the movie debut in theaters?

Pokemon: Detective Pikachu opened in theaters worldwide on May 10.

On May 7, though, Reynolds decided to have some fun with fans online and he retweeted a fake account that claimed to have leaked the entire film, when actually it was a video of looped footage of Detective Pikachu dancing.

When will it come out on Blu-ray and digital?

The digital release of Pokemon: Detective Pikachu will be available on July 23, on various platforms including Google Play, Apple TV, Vudu, Fandango Now and more. The film will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on Aug. 6. Preorders are available here on the official site.