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Pokémon: Wild Card film confirmed for global 2027 release
Developed over time first seen 3 months ago
A new "Pokémon" film, "Pokémon: Wild Card," has been confirmed for worldwide release in 2027, with a short teaser trailer unveiled alongside the announcement. The reveal came during the closing ceremony of the 2026 Pokémon World Championships in San Francisco, marking the franchise's first new theatrical feature since 2020's "Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle" and its first proper global cinema release since 2018's "Pokémon the Movie: The Power of Us," which had only a limited Fathom Events run outside Japan.
The teaser focuses on a trading card game player in a yellow hoodie alongside Mimikyu, the ghost/fairy-type Pokémon introduced in "Sun" and "Moon" that disguises itself as Pikachu beneath a ragged costume. Katsuhiko Kitada ("The First Slam Dunk," "Attack on Titan," "Naruto: Shippuden") is directing, with character design by Akemi Hayashi ("Banana Fish," "Lazarus") and production by CloverWorks, the studio behind "Spy X Family" and "Bocchi the Rock." The film arrives in a landmark year for the franchise following its 30th anniversary in 2026, and coincides with the planned launch of "Winds" and "Waves," the next generation of core "Pokémon" video games.
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In short
- "Pokémon: Wild Card" film confirmed for worldwide 2027 release
- First global theatrical Pokémon movie since 2018
- Directed by Katsuhiko Kitada, produced by CloverWorks studio
How this story developed
- 3 months ago Additional reporting specified that the 2018 film's international run had actually been a limited Fathom Events screening rather than a full release, reinforcing "Wild Card" as the franchise's true return to worldwide theatres.
- 3 months ago Follow-up coverage clarified that the film represents not just the franchise's first theatrical feature since 2020's "Secrets of the Jungle" but also its first genuinely global cinema release since 2018's "The Power of Us," while adding further credits for Kitada and character designer Akemi Hayashi.
- 3 months ago Nintendo and The Pokémon Company revealed "Pokémon: Wild Card," a new animated film due for worldwide release in 2027, unveiling it with a teaser trailer at the closing ceremony of the 2026 Pokémon World Championships in San Francisco and confirming Katsuhiko Kitada as director with CloverWorks handling production.
Full account
Pokémon is returning to cinemas with a new feature film, Pokémon: Wild Card, confirmed for a worldwide release in 2027. The project was unveiled during the closing ceremony of the 2026 Pokémon World Championships in San Francisco, alongside a short teaser trailer offering an early glimpse of the story. It will be the franchise's first new animated film since 2020's Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle, and the first to receive a full worldwide theatrical release since 2018's Pokémon the Movie: The Power of Us, which only had a limited run outside Japan through Fathom Events.
The teaser centres on a Pokémon Trading Card Game player dressed in a yellow hoodie designed to resemble Mimikyu, the ghost and fairy-type Pokémon first introduced in the Sun and Moon games. Mimikyu is known for crudely disguising itself as the series' mascot, Pikachu, while concealing its true form beneath a ragged yellow costume, and its presence alongside the human protagonist suggests the card game itself will be central to the plot rather than the trainer-and-battle format of earlier films.
Behind the scenes, Wild Card will be directed by Katsuhiko Kitada, whose credits include The First Slam Dunk, Attack on Titan and Naruto: Shippuden, with character design from Akemi Hayashi, known for work on Banana Fish and Lazarus. The film is being produced by CloverWorks, the Japanese animation studio behind Spy x Family and Bocchi the Rock. Its announcement comes as the Pokémon franchise marks its 30th anniversary in 2026, with the next generation of core video games, Winds and Waves, also due in 2027.
Coverage of the announcement varies in tone and substance. Official-style reporting has stuck to confirmed facts: the release window, the San Francisco announcement, the teaser's imagery and the creative team involved. By contrast, fan commentary has gone further, speculating that the shift towards a trading-card-game premise is a deliberate strategy by The Pokémon Company to revive interest after previous films saw declining box-office returns, and to attract lapsed fans curious about a fresh format. This fan discussion also flagged the teaser's unexpectedly unsettling final moments as a curiosity that official sources have not addressed, underlining that such interpretations remain speculative rather than confirmed detail.
Where outlets differ
From the full account, which is AI-written from the sources:
Source 1 is a straightforward factual report limited to what was officially announced (release date, teaser content, director, studio, franchise history), while Source 2 is speculative fan commentary offering unconfirmed theories about the studio's commercial motivations for making a TCG-focused film.
Source 2 raises the trailer's 'creepy' closing tone as a notable oddity and voices hope the film retains a familiar Pokémon look, whereas Source 1 makes no mention of the trailer having any unsettling quality.
Only Source 1 provides concrete production credits (Katsuhiko Kitada, Akemi Hayashi, CloverWorks) and franchise context (prior films, 30th anniversary, upcoming Winds and Waves games); Source 2 does not engage with these specifics at all.
Explained simply
Pokémon is a globally popular franchise built around fictional creatures that trainers catch, train and battle, spanning video games, a long-running anime, and a trading card game. It began in 1996 and celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2026, and periodic animated films have long been part of the brand, though none have reached cinemas since 2020's "Secrets of the Jungle."
"Wild Card" is the newly announced next entry in that film series, notable for putting the focus on a trading card game player rather than the usual video-game trainers, alongside Mimikyu, a Pokémon known for disguising itself as the franchise's mascot, Pikachu. It is being made by CloverWorks, an animation studio with a track record on other well-known anime and films, under director Katsuhiko Kitada.
The announcement matters because it signals a renewed push for Pokémon on the big screen after a lengthy gap, timed around the franchise's anniversary and ahead of new video games due the following year, at a moment when the brand remains one of the most commercially significant in entertainment.
Coverage · 4 sources
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Originally published by Variety as “‘Pokémon: Wild Card’ Movie Sets 2027 Release Date, Drops Anime Teaser Starring Trading Card Game Player”.