The long gap between installments almost certainly has to do with the pandemic. The first movie came out in the summer of 2019, and by March of 2020, Hollywood was shut down for the better part of a year. Movie theaters suffered, productions ground to a halt, and development at studios took a hit. Getting back on track has taken time and, undoubtedly, were it not for a world-disrupting event, this would have been a larger priority for Warner Bros. More importantly though, Warner Bros. Discovery, under CEO David Zaslav, is focusing more than ever now on franchises. That being the case, expect more “Pokemon.”
So, what about the cast? Ryan Reynolds voiced Pikachu in the first film, with Justice Smith, Kathryn Newton, Ken Watanabe, and Bill Nighy leading the human cast. This report says no deals are in place yet, though it is believed that Reynolds will have some part to play in the sequel. He’s a big star, and he’ll be busy filming “Deadpool 3,” but it makes every bit of sense to have him come back. We’ll see if anyone else returns or if the studio goes in an entirely new direction.
“Detective Pikachu 2” does not yet have a release date set.