In case word hasn’t traveled to your neck of the interwebs just yet, there’s somehow a Detective Pikachu movie getting made. What’s more amazing is that this flick, based on the popular video game and anime series Pokemon, in which “pocket monsters” battle it out for sport, is starring Ryan Reynolds. As Pikachu. The cartoon rodent-looking thing that generally doesn’t say anything but repetitive variations on the syllables of his own name. Even after weeks of information slowly dripping out of the tap on this production, we’re still asking if there’s any way this could be a really expensive mix-up. Are we getting punk’d? Is getting punk’d still a thing? This question and many others need answering as we countdown to the release on this alleged movie.

Ryan Reynolds has been acting his pants off for years, and while many a fan still existed from his sitcom days of hanging out at a pizza place with a guy and a girl (the name of which I can’t quite put my finger on at the moment), nothing captured the public’s attention quite like his portrayal of Deadpool. The irreverent, fourth-wall-breaking antihero from Marvel Comics fame was a smash hit that stands poised to repeat that success with its upcoming sequel. While we wait, Reynolds tackles an iconic character of a somewhat different kind.

Joining him on this speeding rollercoaster with tracks of questionable structural integrity is a cast one might think was signing up for the next big sci-fi blockbuster. Which, we suppose, this could be, somehow, though we’re not yet sure what to make of it. And maybe that will prove to be its secret weapon.

Japanese actor Ken Watanabe of 2014’s Godzilla has signed on. Bill Nighy of the Underworld vampire saga was also conscripted. Together with Chris Geere (After Earth), Kathryn Newton (Supernatural), and Justice Smith (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom), these thespians may have their work thoroughly cut out for them as they embark on this bewildering endeavor we can’t help but be fascinated by (and maybe a bit fearful of). Never before has the catchphrase “maximum effort” taken on such significance.

Someone’s been kidnapped and Detective Pikachu is on the case, in a live-action universe where the esteemed Mr. Pikachu is among the only Pokemon who actually speaks like the ordinary humans that surround him. To make this surreal experience watchable, Legendary Pictures has chosen Rob Letterman (Goosebumps), who will direct from a script by Nicole Perlman (Guardians of the Galaxy) and Alex Hirsch (Gravity Falls). No foolin!

Detective Pikachu breaches into theaters from the darkest timeline on May 10, 2019. Bring helmet.

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