Ryan Reynolds recently explained why he thinks Warner Bros. chose him to portray everyone’s favorite electric mouse pokémon in Detective Pikachu. It’s for reasons that anyone familiar with the equally handsome and hilarious actor’s best work could easily guess, but that won’t keep fans from gleefully reading on, anyway, as Reynolds’ interview is packed with fascinating insight and his inseparable sense of humor.
Detective Pikachu is the fan favorite among this summer’s live-action video game adaptations (largely because everyone wants to forget about that other one), lauded by fans and critics for its visually stunning and faithful depiction of the franchise’s diverse roster of creatures. Reynolds, who takes a leading role alongside Justice Smith, lends his exceptional voice talent to the titular Detective Pikachu, a crime-solving, caffeine-addicted Pikachu out to solve the source of his human partner’s disappearance. A prominent and beloved personality in his own right, Reynolds has been promoting the film in the only charming ways he knows how, having previously stated that Pikachu could take Deadpool in a fight and publishing a screen test of several of Detective Pikachu’s onscreen pocket monsters.
As for how he believes he fits into the role of Detective Pikachu, Reynolds explained in an interview with ComicBook that it’s likely because of his ability to portray characters with a unique, mouthy eccentricity; a reputation popularized by his raucous performance in the Deadpool series. When asked about his influence on the role, he said, “I think they hired me for some of that.” He then clarified, “Inevitably, I’m at the mercy of the filmmakers.” However, Reynolds confirms that he was able to directly guide the character, saying that he “took a pass at the script” and “got to make sure that the voice sort of worked the way I think it could work for [him].”
Reynolds admits that he “knew about Pokémon,” but was less aware of the “nuance and details” of the storied handheld franchise when first tackling the role. Understandably, he explains, “I sort of just missed it,” due to having been slightly too old for the kid-directed games at the time of their quick rise to popularity in the late 1990s. However, he explains that once he got up to speed, he discovered Pokémon to be “fantastic,” saying:
True to character, Reynolds also explained how some of his trademark irreverent raunchiness was present while bringing Detective Pikachu to life. While detailing his yearlong process of motion-capture work for the role, Reynolds described it as “throwing 800 versions of any joke or any moment up against a wall” while editors piece together usable footage, with lines he calls “PG-13 bordering on rated R” left understandably on the cutting room floor. This spurred the unavoidable question of what an R-rated Pikachu movie would look with Reynolds at the helm, to which he wittily replied with “a Pikachu version of Mean Streets… or Goodfellas.”
“Like, I mean, it’s an amazing world, and I can’t believe there actually hasn’t been a live-action movie before. I think technology actually caught up [sic] to do it like this, so anytime you get to be part of a pioneering sort of trip like this, it’s pretty exciting.”
If that’s anything to go on, it should be clear the kind of energy and creativity Reynolds has brought to the Pokémon mascot. Accordingly, there’s little doubt that Detective Pikachu will have all-ages appeal embedded in the core of its star performances when it finally premieres.
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Source: ComicBook
