'Guardians Of The Galaxy' scribes on board for first live-action Pokemon film

"Guardians Of The Galaxy" writers Nicole Perlman and Alex Hirsch have signed on to pen the script for the first live-action Pokemon film, with production on the film expected to begin in 2017.

As previously reported, Legendary Entertainment has acquired the rights to the feature, which will centre on the character "Detective Pikachu", a character who isn't as agile as other Pokemon characters, relying on his intelligence to solve cases.

The deal, which will see Legendary partner with the Pokémon Company, comes just weeks after the launch of the "Pokemon Go" app game which has become a worldwide hit.

Since the release of Pokemon Go, shares in Nintendo have risen by 25 percent, while Pokemon has sold 21.5 billion cards since it was launched in 1996. Games based on Pokemon have sold 280 million copies, according to NME.