The last couple of years have been particularly significant for movies based on video game franchises, with Sonic the Hedgehog, Mortal Kombat, and Detective Pikachu all performing well at the box office. Detective Pikachu was particularly well-received, garnering positive acclaim and making close to half a billion dollars at the global box office. A sequel was announced even before the first movie was released in theaters. But in a recent interview, Justice Smith, who played the lead role of Tim Goodman in Detective Pickachu, seemed pessimistic about the chances for a sequel.

"I would love to participate in Detective Pikachu 2. I don't know if it's going to happen. I think we have to just kind of bury our hopes. I don't think it's going to happen. I really hope so though. Honestly, I'm such a huge fan, who knows, who knows? I hope so."

From Smith's comments, it is difficult to decipher whether he is referring to the chances of a sequel to Detective Pikachu being low, or the chance of him being in the movie. Considering that the original film's central storyline hinged entirely on Tim's search for his father, it would be strange if the actor was not present in the sequel.

Still, while no official word on the matter has been issued so far, it would be unusual for a movie that was as successful as Detective Pikachu to not have a sequel. The film was clearly intended to be the start of an entire live-action Pokémon cinematic universe, with CGI finally being good enough to allow for the monster characters from the world-famous franchise to be rendered convincingly on the big screen.

Of course, there is also the fact that Detective Pikachu temporary condition that allowed Pikachu to speak as Ryan Ryenolds' character was resolved, making the tiny yellow Pokemon once again a mostly mute character that occasionally chirrups "Pika! Pika!"

The more exciting possibility is that, if a sequel to Detective Pikachu is really not on the cards, it could be because the makers of the film intend to bring in more familiar human characters from the Pokemon franchise, specifically Ash Ketchum, his friends Misty and Brock, their enemies Jessie and James, and the rest of the cast of the immensely popular Pokemon tv show.

That is the live-action movie that fans really want to watch in the Pokemon franchise. As entertaining as Detective Pikachu was, watching Tim Goodman interacting with a talking Pikachu always gave off a sense that we were watching strangers walking around in a world that fans know so well.

With the entry of Ash and his supporting cast, the live-action Pokemon world would start to feel much more familiar, and fans would flock to see the world of the cartoons brought to life on the big screen, in a franchise that could be the next Harry Potter in terms of mass appeal. This news originated at Inverse.