A brand-new Pokémon movie is officially on the way, with Pokémon: Wild Card announced for 2027. The animated film was revealed during the closing ceremony of the 2026 Pokémon World Championships in San Francisco and will mark the franchise’s first feature-length animated movie in seven years. The film will follow a Pokémon Trading Card Game player and their partner Mimikyu, with a short teaser giving fans their first look at the new story. The premise asks whether the pair will have what it takes when the time comes to “put their cards on the table”, with the TCG playing a major role in the film.

Mimikyu first appeared in 2016’s Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon and has since become one of the franchise’s most popular newer Pokémon. The Ghost and Fairy-type Pokémon hides beneath an old rag designed to resemble Pikachu because it wants to receive the same love and attention, while its real appearance remains hidden underneath. It has since appeared across the games, animated series and Pokémon Trading Card Game, making it a fitting choice for Wild Card.

Katsuhiko Kitada will direct the film, with Akemi Hayashi handling character design. Story Inc. is producing, while Japanese animation studio CloverWorks will be responsible for the animation. An exact release date has not yet been announced, but the teaser confirms Pokémon: Wild Card will arrive in 2027.

It will be the first feature-length animated Pokémon movie since Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle, which was released in Japan in 2020 before arriving internationally the following year. The announcement also comes as Pokémon prepares for another major 2027 release, with Disney+ recently confirming the stop-motion series Pokémon Tales: The Misadventures of Sirfetch’d & Pichu. The Wild Card teaser ends with “2027 and beyond”, so there could be even more on the way.

For CultureCues, we are very excited about this one. We were big Pokémon fans growing up, so getting a new movie after seven years is already enough to make us happy. Mimikyu is also such a popular character that fans will be delighted to see it getting such a big role here, especially with the Trading Card Game involved too. It has always been one of the franchise’s most loveable little weirdos, so we are very ready to see what Wild Card does with it.

Pokémon: Wild Card will be released in 2027, with an exact cinema date still to be announce