Pokemon live-action movie officially happening with Detective Pikachu

Legendary has won the rights to produce the very first live-action Pokemon movie in the brand's history

Right in the midst of the global hysteria over Pokemon GO, Hollywood's ever opportunistic minds launched into a race to bring the phenomenon to big screens.

Legendary Entertainment has now won out, according to Variety, securing the rights to partner with the Pokémon Company in producing the very first live-action Pokemon film franchise; in the footsteps of a lengthy history of animated films, starting with 1998's Pokémon: The First Movie.

However, though some would assume the film would riff off the recently released augmented reality game, which proved so popular that it led to an 86% jump in Nintendo stocks, Legendary are taking a very different route with the film. Specific details are under wraps, but the film will focus on a new character in the Pokemon universe, Detective Pikachu.

The character was introduced in Japan with the Nintendo 3DS game Great Detective Pikachu; which introduced a talking version of the character, when a young boy named Tim Goodman discovers he can understand the creature beyond its repetitions of its own name.

Turns out Detective Pikachu considers himself the Sherlock Holmes of the Pokemon world, leading the two on a whole host of mystery-solving adventures.

Legendary intends to fast-track production to start in 2017, presumably in fears of missing out on the peak of Poke-madness.