The New 'Detective Pikachu' Teaser Hints At An Iconic 'Pokemon' Villain

The upcoming Pokemon movie Detective Pikachu definitely looks a lot different than anything else the franchise has ever put out, but it looks like the movie will include an important throwback to the very first Pokemon movie. A new Detective Pikachu teaser has fans convinced that the live-action movie will feature one of the franchise's most iconic villains.

Detective Pikachu released a short new teaser for the movie's second trailer, and although the clip does not include much new footage, one moment will definitely stand out to Pokemon fans. At the end of the new video, Pikachu crouches in fear as a Charizard prepares to attack him. We saw this Charizard versus Pikachu battle in the first trailer, but this time fans got a clear shot of Charizard's glowing purple eyes. That tiny detail could actual be the big reveal about who the big bad in Detective Pikachu will be. It certainly looks like Charizard is being controlled by a powerful psychic type Pokemon, and that same storyline was at the center of 1998's Pokemon: The First Movie, in which the genetically engineered Pokemon Mewtwo mind controlled other Pokemon to create his own army.

Check out the new Detective Pikachu teaser below:

Detective Pikachu has yet to officially reveal its mysterious antagonist. So far, all we know is that Tim Goodman (Justice Smith) will team up with Detective Pikachu (voiced by Ryan Reynolds) to investigate his father's sudden disappearance. Their investigation will then lead them to uncovering a dangerous plot that threatens to destroy the world, and it sounds like it could be Mewtwo at the center of that plot.

If Mewtwo is indeed revealed to be the villain of Detective Pikachu, the new movie will pack an extra wallop of nostalgia for Pokemon fans. Mewtwo was the villain for the very first Pokemon movie, which was released under the title Mewtwo Strikes Back in Japan in 1998. Since then, the animated franchise has released over twenty movies, but the first one obviously still holds a special place among fans. Pokemon is actually planning a follow-up to the first movie this summer, called Mewtwo Strikes Back: Evolution. That movie will be released in Japan on July 12, just two months after Detective Pikachu's release. Those close release dates could be even more of an indication that Mewtwo could be a big part of Detective Pikachu.

With at least one more full-length trailer coming out ahead of Detective Pikachu's release, fans might actually get to see how Mewtwo will look with the movie's photorealistic CGI before the film's premiere. As of right now, though, the Mewtwo theory is still just a guess based on Charizard's purple eyes.

Detective Pikachu will star Justice Smith as former Pokemon trainer Tim Goodman and Ryan Reynolds as the voice of Detective Pikachu. Kathryn Newton will play a reporter who helps the duo along, and Rita Ora, Chris Geere, Suki Waterhouse, and Rob Delaney are also all cast in undisclosed roles. Detective Pikachu hits theaters on May 10.