Pokémon is heading back to theaters for the first time in years, and it’s doing so with a format nobody saw coming. During the closing ceremony of the 2026 Pokémon World Championships at San Francisco’s Chase Center, The Pokémon Company surprised a packed crowd with the reveal of Pokémon: Wild Card, a new anime feature film built around the Pokémon Trading Card Game rather than the usual gym-battling adventure formula.
The announcement lands right as the franchise celebrates its 30th anniversary, and it marks the first theatrical Pokémon anime movie since Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle in 2020.
What Is Pokémon: Wild Card About?
Rather than following a trainer catching and battling Pokémon in the wild, Wild Card centers on a Pokémon Trading Card Game player and their partner, Mimikyu, the Disguise Pokémon. The teaser shown at the World Championships leaned heavily into card-game imagery, with cards laid out across a table as two players face off, suggesting the actual act of playing the TCG will be central to the story rather than just a backdrop.
It’s a notable shift for the franchise: previous Pokémon films built their stories around Ash Ketchum or, more recently, current anime protagonists Liko and Roy, exploring the world alongside their Pokémon. Wild Card instead borrows a structure closer to competitive card-game franchises like Yu-Gi-Oh!, and appears to be aiming at an audience that’s grown up alongside the games rather than only younger viewers.
Who’s Making the Film
Wild Card is being produced by CloverWorks, the animation studio behind Spy x Family and My Dress-Up Darling, rather than OLM, the studio that has handled the mainline Pokémon anime for nearly three decades. Katsuhiko Kitada is directing, with character designs from Akemi Hayashi. Handing the project to a different studio with a distinct visual style is itself a signal that The Pokémon Company wants Wild Card to feel like a departure from past films rather than another entry in the same visual mold.
Why the TCG Focus Makes Sense Right Now
The timing tracks with how central the Pokémon Trading Card Game has become to the franchise’s recent growth. Physical card sales have surged over the past several years, driven by both longtime collectors and a wave of newer players drawn in by special sets and reprints, and the games division has increasingly become as important to Pokémon’s business as the video games themselves. Building a movie specifically around competitive card play, rather than treating the TCG as a side product, reflects how much that side of the franchise has grown.
When and Where It Was Announced
The reveal came during the closing ceremony of the 2026 Pokémon World Championships, the franchise’s premier competitive event, held this year at Chase Center in San Francisco. Announcing a new theatrical film in front of thousands of competitive players and fans, rather than through a standalone press release, gave The Pokémon Company an audience already primed to care about the trading card game angle, and reactions from attendees and online fan communities were immediate and largely enthusiastic.
Release Date and What’s Still Unknown
Pokémon: Wild Card is currently set for a 2027 release, though The Pokémon Company has not yet confirmed an exact date, specific markets, or a distributor for the film’s international rollout. Cast details, a full trailer, and the protagonist’s name were all withheld at the announcement, with only teaser footage shown to the live crowd in San Francisco.
What Fans Should Expect
With CloverWorks handling animation instead of OLM, a card-game-driven plot instead of a traditional journey narrative, and a six-year gap since the franchise’s last theatrical release, Wild Card is shaping up as one of the more significant swings Pokémon has taken with its film side in years. Expect more details, including a full trailer and likely a proper title reveal event, to roll out over the coming months as 2027 approaches.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does Pokémon: Wild Card release?
The film is set for a 2027 release, though The Pokémon Company has not confirmed an exact date.
What is Pokémon: Wild Card about?
The film follows a Pokémon Trading Card Game player and their partner Mimikyu, focusing on competitive card play rather than the franchise’s usual trainer-and-battle format.
Who is animating Pokémon: Wild Card?
CloverWorks, the studio behind Spy x Family and My Dress-Up Darling, is animating the film, directed by Katsuhiko Kitada.
Where was Pokémon: Wild Card announced?
It was revealed during the closing ceremony of the 2026 Pokémon World Championships at Chase Center in San Francisco.
Wild Card isn’t the only franchise leaning into anniversary-driven announcements this year — Star Wars: Visions has taken a similarly experimental approach to expanding its universe through anime, while fans still waiting on KPop Demon Hunters’ 2027 world tour now have another animated 2027 release to add to their calendars.
