A live-action Pokemon movie is definitely happening.
Legendary Entertainment - the studio behind The Dark Knight, Jurassic World and Godzilla - has bought the film rights for the franchise from The Pokemon Company.
The first movie, of what's expected to be several, will be based around this year's Nintendo console game Great Detective Pikachu.
The deal comes two weeks after the Pokemon Go app game was released and became a worldwide phenomenon, so much so that it led to a 25% jump in the stock of part owner Nintendo. The augmented reality game allows players to capture, battle and train the Pokemon virtual creatures.
Pokémon was introduced in Japan in 1996 and has sold 279 million video games worldwide with 21.5 billion cards shipped to 74 countries, and an animated series spanning 19 seasons. The hugely popular Pokemon Go app recently saw the pocket monsters surge back into the pop culture consciousnesses.
