Wild Card, Pokémon Hands the Next Movie to a Card Player and Mimikyu

Seven years after Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle left theaters in Japan and later arrived on Netflix, a new feature-length animated film is finally on the calendar. Pokémon: Wild Card was unveiled August 30, 2026, during the closing ceremony of the Pokémon World Championships at Chase Center in San Francisco, then confirmed on Pokémon.com the same weekend.

Tsunekazu Ishihara, president and CEO of The Pokémon Company, told the arena this is the first new Pokémon movie in seven years, and that the lead is a trading card game player “battling and striving to be a champion,” language aimed straight at the people sitting in that room. Official copy keeps the premise short. A TCG player and his partner Mimikyu have to put their cards on the table and prove they can reach their goals. There are no gym badges, no Ash, and no cross-country journeys like those that defined the old theatrical slate.

Mimikyu shows up with a pretty out there backstory. Introduced back in Pokémon Sun and Moon back in 2016, this Ghost and Fairy-type is a bit of a oddball – it wears a tatty old cloth painted to look like Pikachu, and the whole reason for this getup is that it just wants the same affection that people lavish on that little fella. This Pikachu-inspired costume hides a rather different story, a dark and low-slung figure that is a bit of a scaredy cat who prefers shadows to bright lights. This same ‘costume logic’ is now being matched with a human lead who wears a yellow sweatshirt that is essentially a duplicate of the same silhouette, at least according to Japanese press, which refers to the player as Mikiya. However, the English team is remaining cautious, referring to him solely as a TCG player for the time being.


A 39-second teaser finally dropped, allowing the world to get a glance. The game begins with a slew of cards spread around a playmat before things get a little crazy. We get a taste of city nighttime with neon and the works, a river, and a stone barrier. Mikiya sits at the table, appearing peaceful in his yellow hoodie, while Mimikyu lurks in the distance, perched on the fence. There’s a brief flash of a Psychic deck with a Mimikyu card already in play, and then the footage turns to the player gazing directly at the camera, with the logo and an eye symbol that’s a little perplexing. The wording at the conclusion effectively implies that it will all come in 2027 and then on after that, or in 2027 and on, depending on which part of the video you view. That’s why all of the trade news is just repeating the same narrative without even attempting to guess the exact date.


CloverWorks is handling the animation, and they’re also responsible for Spy x Family, Bocchi the Rock!, and My Dress-Up Darling, a very unusual lineup that deviates from the traditional gentler family fare of older Pokémon films. Katsuhiko Kitada will direct after previously working on The First Slam Dunk, Attack on Titan, and Naruto: Shippuden. Meanwhile, Akemi Hayashi is responsible for character design, having previously worked on Banana Fish, Lazarus, and a variety of other projects. STORY inc. is credited with planning and production, and Toho will handle distribution in Japan, but there is no information on who will voice the actors.


Release details are being kept very vague. The general consensus is that it will be released in cinemas worldwide in 2027, with the tagline “and beyond” prominently featured on the teaser. Of course, this has sparked all sorts of speculation, including a sequel film, a companion series, or simply a massive international launch. However, no one from The Pokémon Company has announced whether there would be a second chapter. Other information, such as when it will be released in the United States, who will stream it, and when we will be able to see it, are yet unknown.