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While it was recently reported that there was a bidding war going on between Sony, Warner Bros, and Legendary over the rights to make a live-action ‘Pokemon’ movie, recent news reported by Deadline has Legendary Pictures as the frontrunner to take on the massive Nintendo franchise. Of course, the price for the film rights probably surged after the release of the ‘Pokemon Go’ phone app, as the new game is taking the world by storm and (for me at least) it seems like almost everyone I know is either playing it or is well aware of how many people are currently playing. The app has demonstrated just how strong a brand ‘Pokemon’ still is after all of these years and how consumers, both older (who play out of nostalgia) and new are hungry for more content from the franchise.

If Legendary scores the ‘Pokemon’ rights, it would be big news for other reasons as well, as it would be the first live-action adaptation of a Nintendo franchise since the disastrous ‘Mario Bros’ movie back in the 90’s, which so embarrassed the Nintendo company that they have not allowed Hollywood access to any more of their characters since. But perhaps they have a little more faith in Legendary Pictures, which just came off the somewhat success of the ‘Warcraft’ movie, which, even though it tanked domestically, did incredibly well in the Chinese market. The ‘Pokemon’ franchise already lends itself pretty well to a more linear storytelling approach, hence the success of the ‘Pokemon’ cartoon which is still running after all of these years, though the CGI involved in creating all the various Pokemon in live action might be a bit of a burden for filmmakers, unless they streamline how many of the little creatures we actually see in the film.

What do you think a live-action ‘Pokemon’ film? Do you think Legendary is the right studio to handle it? Share your opinions in the comments below!

Source: Collider

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Nick is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles, who belongs to the privileged few who enjoyed the ending to ‘Lost.’ For more of Nick’s thoughts and articles, follow him on Twitter.