Ryan Reynolds Reveals the Method Acting That Went Into Playing Detective Pikachu

Consider me sold by the genius idea of having Ryan Reynolds voicing Pokémon’s most popular character, Pikachu. Hell, at this point, I would watch Reynolds read the phonebook—the guy exudes charm and charisma with nastily delivered humor. Forget about the clear and concise attempt by Warner Brother to franchise the hell out of “Pokémon: Detective Pikachu,” the trailer makes it look like a potentially fun ride.

I cringed at every attempt by Hollywood to deliver a Pokémon universe. However, what’s intriguing about this film is that it seems to deliver a genre mashup of science-fiction, neo-noir, and need I mention again, RYAN REYNOLDS. Ok, I’ll stop, but even the film’s look, with a Blade Runner-esque vibe, has me sold. The DP is a Ridley Scott veteran: John Mathieson (“Gladiator,” “Kingdom of Heaven,” “Logan”).

The problem is that its director, Rob Letterman, is known to stoop down in low-quality blockbuster fare such as “A Shark’s Tale,”  “Monsters vs. Aliens” and “Goosebumps,” yikes. Letterman was helped by “Spotlight” and “The Visitor” director Tom McCarthy to build the story and make it plausible for an American audience who couldn’t care less about Pikachu. The meta element is most definitely there, clearly present in the trailer.

Earlier this week, Reynolds posted a video titled “Becoming Pikachu,” in which he explained how he came to embody the heart and soul of the yellow Pokemon character.

“I lived it, I breathed it. I became the character. I spent the entire year as Detective Pikachu,” he was filmed saying while sitting before a camera and holding a magnifying glass. “Bringing Detective Pikachu to the big screen is a privilege that I don’t take lightly. Every second, my energy is spent making this character come alive with the same exacting standards that the most discerning fans will come to expect.”

“Now, as many of you know, I vanish into my roles,” he says. “You know, this is a funny anecdote: I was on my way to pick up my daughters from school when I heard that I got the role… I didn’t show up at school ‘cause Detective Pikachu, he doesn’t know who those little girls are. Who are they?”

“They’re our daughters," Lively chimes in, deadpanning. "He just left them.”

“He doesn’t have a wife, no,” Reynolds added. “He’s a little yellow guy. He lives in Ryme City in a briar patch or something. You know, I immersed myself completely within the world of Pokemon. I read about ‘em. I lived at his height. I tried to lose 182 pounds to match his weight, until doctors intervened.”

Despite Reynolds’ claims of extreme method acting on the film, he didn’t even change his voice. It just sounds like him. Which makes the whole video even more hysterically delivered after watching this latest trailer.

“The point is, my daughters, they may never see their dad again,” he states. “But you can be damned sure that when they’re looking up at that big screen this summer, they’re gonna see Detective Pikachu."

“Pokémon: Detective Pikachu” also co-stars Justice Smith, Kathryn Newton, Suki Waterhouse, Omar Chaparro, Chris Geere, Ken Watanabe and is scheduled for release on May 10, 2019.