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‘Pokémon: Wild Card,’ The Franchise’s First Animated Feature In Seven Years, Unveiled For 2027
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Pokémon is bringing its trading card battles to feature animation in the franchise’s first theatrical feature in seven years.
The Pokémon Company has announced Pokémon: Wild Card, a new film about an aspiring Pokémon Trading Card Game player and his partner Mimikyu, with a release set to begin in 2027.
Unveiled during the closing ceremony of the 2026 Pokémon World Championships in San Francisco, the project announcement was accompanied by a first teaser introducing its central pairing.
Katsuhiko Kitada is directing, with character designs by Akemi Hayashi, whose credits include Banana Fish. Story Inc. is producing, while CloverWorks is handling animation production. The studio’s filmography includes Bocchi the Rock! and the Spy x Family franchise.
Unlike previous iterations, the new film will put the franchise’s tabletop game at the center of the action, following a player striving to become a champion. Introducing the project, The Pokémon Company president and CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara said the film aims to capture the competitive spirit shared by Pokémon Trainers around the world. Further story details remain under wraps.
The previous animated feature, Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle, opened in Japan in 2020 before arriving internationally on Netflix in October 2021. The seven-year interval refers to the gap between that original Japanese release and Wild Card’s planned 2027 debut.
For now, The Pokémon Company is describing the release as beginning in 2027, rather than announcing a single worldwide opening date. Its announcement does not yet detail the film’s distribution plans for individual territories.
Wild Card joins an increasingly diverse Pokémon animation slate. Netflix’s stop-motion series Pokémon Concierge returned with new episodes last September, while Pokémon Horizons continues the franchise’s adventure anime tradition with its third season. Next year will also bring Aardman’s stop-motion series Pokémon Tales: The Misadventures of Sirfetch’d & Pichu to Disney XD and Disney+.
