Pokemon: Detective Pikachu live action movie confirmed

A live action Pokemon movie is to begin production in 2017, Legendary Entertainment has confirmed.

The film will focus on Detective Pikachu - a new character in the universe, introduced through a video game in Japan earlier this year.

The news comes following the huge international success of the Pokemon Go game in recent weeks.

Its popularity led to a 25% jump in shares for Nintendo - part owner of the brand.

Pokemon was first released as a video game in 1996 and led to an animated TV series and film franchise, plus merchandise including trading cards - which became a craze in UK schools in the early 2000s.

It is not the first film Legendary Entertainment has produced that is based on a video game - the company recently released Warcraft in cinemas, based on the successful role playing game World of Warcraft.

The media company was also behind Jurassic World, The Dark Knight Rises and Godzilla.