The new CGI remake of Pokémon: The First Movie, called Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back— Evolution, debuted in Japan in July of 2019, but it’s finally coming to the United States, thanks to Netflix. After a couple of short teasers, the streaming giant tweeted out the first English language trailer for the movie.
The Japanese version of Evolution updated the story of the original movie with brand new entirely computer generated artwork. The movie follows Ash, Pikachu, and their friends as they attempt to thwart a plot by Team Rocket to create the first entirely synthetic Pokémon, Mewtwo. The plot itself isn’t that far off from the story in Pokemon’s first foray into live-action blockbusters with last year’s Pokémon: Detective Pikachu.
Pokémon: The First Movie (also known as Pokémon: The First Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back) original debuted in 1998 in Japan, and a year later in North America, where it grossed over $85 million. Since the original release, there have been 21 other Pokémon movies, but none quite so successful or well-regarded as the original.
Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back, which should once again remind us of the power of friendship, will hit Netflix on Thursday, Feb. 27.
