In anticipation of Detective Pikachu arriving in theaters next month, Twitter released some Poke-tastic new emojis featuring five of the best-loved first generation Pokemon. Originally released as a spinoff video game for the 3DS, Detective Pikachu felt like a curious choice for a first ever live-action Pokemon movie and as the project progressed, even more unexpected details began to emerge. Ryan Reynolds, fresh from Deadpool success, was announced as voicing the titular electric mouse, with supporting turns from Ken Watanabe, popstar Rita Ora, acting veteran Bill Nighy and a selection of younger talent.
Expectations were muted initially, but that swiftly changed with the release of the first Detective Pikachu trailer in late 2018. Online reaction to the footage was hugely positive, praising the movie’s visual style, Reynolds’ voice performance and the integration of inherently weird creatures into a real-life setting. Anticipation for Detective Pikachu’s release has been sky high ever since, as more and more of the movie’s Pokemon have been unveiled to eager fans. With just over a month until release, the Warner Bros. marketing machine is in full swing and Reynolds himself has also been promoting the film in his own unique way.
Detective Pikachu is now casting its magnifying glass over the world of social media, as a quintet of Pokemon emojis have been released on Twitter to promote the forthcoming movie. The official Pokemon Twitter account revealed the new additions in an inventive fashion, playing a tweeted version of the classic “Who’s That Pokemon?” game from the anime series. After all the clues were solved, emojis were revealed for the three original Red and Blue starter Pokemon, Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle, as well as the uber-powerful psychic type Mewtwo and, of course, there’s also a deerstalker-wearing Detective Pikachu emoji.
The selection of digital icons and guessing game reveal are certainly fun ways of promoting Detective Pikachu and fans will no doubt make full use of them in the coming months. Perhaps Twitter will even be able to analyze which starter emoji was tweeted the most by users and finally answer the age-old question of whether Bulbasaur, Charmander or Squirtle was the superior starter Pokemon.
With so much hype around Detective Pikachu’s release, it’ll be interesting to see whether or not the finished product can live up to expectations. Early reaction has been highly positive, but it’s worth remembering the infamous curse surrounding both live-action video game adaptations and live-action anime adaptations. Detective Pikachu could arguably fit into both categories.
More: Detective Pikachu CinemaCon Footage Description
Source: Pokemon/Twitter
- detective pikachu Release Date: 2019-05-10
