Legendary Entertainment has set Rob Letterman to direct Detective Pikachu , the live-action film. Scripted by Nicole Perlman and Alex Hirsch, the project follows Detective Pikachu, a new character and storyline in the Pokémon universe.

Legendary made the movie deal  in July at the height of the Pokemon Go craze, in which followers accumulated pocket monsters through their phones by passing by locations. The movie covers a different aspect in the Pokémon universe. Letterman’s credits include Goosebumps and Monsters Vs. Aliens , which he directed, and Shark Tale , which he wrote and directed. He is represented by WME.

Universal Pictures, Legendary’s distribution partner, will release the live-action film outside Japan. The Pokémon Company’s longtime movie collaborator, Toho, will handle distribution of the film franchise in Japan, as it had done in its partnership with Legendary on its iconic monster reboot for Godzilla.

First introduced in Japan in 1996, Pokémon video games have sold more than 279 million units worldwide across its various incarnations, 21.5 billion TCG cards have been shipped to 74 countries, and the animated series spanned 20 seasons.