Pokémon Returns to the Big Screen With New “Wild Card” Movie

Pokémon is celebrating 30 years.

Yet rather than simply looking backwards at three decades of catching, battling and training, the franchise seems considerably more interested in what comes next.

And apparently, that includes a return to the movies.

A brand-new animated Pokémon film titled “Pokémon: Wild Card” is officially heading to theaters worldwide in 2027, marking the franchise’s first new movie since “Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle.”

The announcement was made during the closing ceremony of the 2026 Pokémon World Championships in San Francisco, where fans were also treated to the first mysterious teaser.

And already, this feels like a very different Pokémon movie.

Rather than immediately introducing another legendary Pokémon or placing one of the franchise’s familiar Trainers at the center of the story, “Wild Card” appears to be turning toward another massive piece of the Pokémon universe.

The Trading Card Game.

The brief teaser introduces a mysterious Pokémon Trading Card Game player dressed in a yellow hoodie alongside Mimikyu, the wonderfully creepy Ghost and Fairy-type Pokémon first introduced in “Pokémon Sun” and “Pokémon Moon.”

You know the one.

The little Pokémon hiding underneath a crude Pikachu disguise because its actual appearance remains a mystery.

Adorable.

Slightly unsettling.

Perfect Pokémon movie material.

While story details surrounding “Wild Card” remain limited, placing a Trading Card Game player at the center of the teaser is particularly interesting.

Pokémon has never been simply one thing.

The games created the world.

The anime helped introduce that world to millions of kids internationally.

The merchandise turned Pikachu into one of the most recognizable characters on Earth.

And the Pokémon Trading Card Game has grown into a phenomenon all its own.

Now, “Wild Card” appears ready to bring another piece of that enormous Pokémon ecosystem directly into the cinematic storytelling.

Behind the film is an equally interesting creative team.

Katsuhiko Kitada will direct “Pokémon: Wild Card,” bringing experience from projects including “The First Slam Dunk,” “Attack on Titan” and “Naruto: Shippuden.”

Akemi Hayashi, whose credits include “Banana Fish” and “Lazarus,” is handling character design.

Then there is the studio bringing everything together.

CloverWorks.

The Japanese animation studio behind projects including “Spy x Family” and “Bocchi the Rock!” will produce “Pokémon: Wild Card,” giving the franchise’s cinematic return some particularly exciting anime talent behind the scenes.

And “return” really is the important word here.

Pokémon hasn’t released a new movie since 2020’s “Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle,” which debuted theatrically in Japan before reaching international audiences through Netflix in 2021.

It has been even longer since Pokémon had a movie released theatrically around the world.

That distinction belongs to 2018’s “Pokémon the Movie: The Power of Us,” which received a limited theatrical release outside Japan.

So, yes.

Pokémon has been away from the international big screen for quite some time.

Its return also arrives while seemingly every other corner of the franchise is moving forward.

Pokémon celebrated its 30th anniversary throughout 2026.

Disney+ and The Pokémon Company International recently entered into a new global distribution agreement bringing Pokémon programming onto Disney+ and Disney XD.

Aardman is creating the stop-motion series “Pokémon Tales: The Misadventures of Sirfetch’d & Pichu.”

And 2027 will introduce “Pokémon Winds” and “Pokémon Waves,” kicking off the tenth generation of Pokémon games.

Now theatrical animation is joining that next era.

Taken together, it feels less like Pokémon simply celebrating its past and considerably more like the franchise laying the groundwork for its next decade.

New games.

New animation.

New global distribution.

And now, a new movie.

Thirty years after players first stepped into the world of Pokémon, there are still entirely new adventures waiting to be discovered.

This particular one just happens to involve a mysterious card player and a Pokémon wearing a Pikachu-shaped sheet.

“Pokémon: Wild Card” will be released worldwide in 2027.