Pokémon: Detective Pikachu (2019)

Posted on May 8, 2019 by Kent Film Office

Animated yellow Detective Pikachu seen smiling at the camera wearing a cap. Utensils and pipes in the background.

Pokémon: Detective Pikachu ©Warner Bros. Studios

Writer: Nicole Perlman and Rob Letterman
Director: Rob Letterman
Starring: Ryan Reynolds (voice), Justice Smith, Kathryn Newton, Rita Ora, Ken Watanabe, Bill Nighy
Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures, Legendary, The Pokémon Company
Kent Locations Used: The Historic Dockyard Chatham

Based upon the Nintendo video game and later a tv anime and interactive App, Pokémon: Detective Pikachu is a feature film combining live elements and animation. The story centres on Tim (Justice Smith) who is looking for his missing father in the metropolis of Rhyme City in the Kanto Region. Accompanying him on this quest is Pokémon Pikachu (Ryan Reynolds) and together they find some dark secrets in the city.

The film stars Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool, The Hitman’s Bodyguard) as the voice of Pikachu, Justice Smith (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, The Get Down), Kathryn Newton (Supernatural, Big Little Lies), Rita Ora (Fifty Shades Darker, Fifty Shades Free), Ken Watanabe (Godzilla, Isle of Dogs) and Bill Nighy (Love Actually, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest). Directed by Rob Lettermen (Gulliver’s Travels, Goosebumps) and written by him with Nicole Perlman (Guardians of the Galaxy).

Some scenes in the film were shot on Anchor Wharf at The Historic Dockyard Chatham which has hosted many films including Sherlock Holmes (2009) and Peterloo (2018) and TV shows such as Call the Midwife (2012-2020) and Vanity Fair (2018).

POKÉMON Detective Pikachu was released in UK cinemas on Friday 10th May 2019.

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map.

Wonder Woman (2017)

Posted on June 1, 2017 by Kent Film Office

GAL GADOT as Diana standing on beach with other Amazonian women next to her.

Writers: Allan Heinberg, Geoff Johns

Director: Patty Jenkins

Starring: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Robin Wright, Connie Nielsen

Production Companies: DC Films, Warner Bros, RatPac Entertainment, Atlas Entertainment, Wanda Picture, Cruel and Unusual Films

Kent Locations Used: Lower Halstow

Captain Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) and Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) standing next to each other facing the camera

Wonder Woman is an upcoming DC superhero film which follows Amazonian Princess, Diana (Gal Gadot), who leaves her home after an American pilot crashes on the island and tells her about the ongoing world war.

The film is written by Allan Heinberg (Grey’s Anatomy, Sex and the City) and Geoff Johns (The Flash, Arrow) and directed by Patty Jenkins (Monster, The Killing). Wonder Woman stars Gal Gadot (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Fast & Furious), Chris Pine (Star Trek, Into the Woods), Robin Wright (The Princess Bride, House of Cards) and Connie Nielsen (Gladiator, One Hour Photo).

The major production visited the small Kent village of Lower Halstow where the estuary doubled as a Belgian Creek for a scene in which Diana arrives on a sailboat to be delivered to the war front.

Lower Halstow is located in the Swale district of Kent on the banks of the Medway Estuary. The rural villages in Swale have often been used as filming locations for visiting productions. Wonder Woman was filmed near Stangate Creek which lies on the River Medway and is famous for Turner’s watercolours of English rivers. Other productions that have filmed at Stangate Creek are Mr Turner (2014), Great Expectations (2012) and Canterbury Tales- The Man of Laws’ Tale (2003).

Wonder Woman was released in cinemas on 1^st June 2017.

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map.

Doctor Strange (2016)

Posted on October 19, 2016 by Kent Film Office

Dr Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) with a light effect through his hands

Dr Strange © Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures UK

Writer: Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill

Director: Scott Derrickson

Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Rachel McAdams, Mads Mikkelsen, Tilda Swinton, Benedict Wong, Chiwetel Ejiofor

Production Company: Marvel Studios

Kent Locations Used: Northfleet

Doctor Strange is a feature film based on the Marvel comic about a neurosurgeon who is injured in a car accident that ruins his career. As the Doctor (Benedict Cumberbatch) sets out on a journey of healing, he instead finds himself protecting the world from inter-dimensional threats.

Scott Derrickson (Sinister, The Day the Earth Stood Still) directs and also co-writes the screenplay with C. Robert Cargill (Sinister, Sinister 2).

Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock, The Imitation Game) stars as Doctor Stephen Strange with a supporting cast including Rachel McAdams (Mean Girls, The Notebook), Mads Mikkelsen (Casino Royale, The Hunt), Tilda Swinton (We Need to Talk About Kevin, The Chronicles of Narnia), Benedict Wong (The Martian, Prometheus) and Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave, Children of Men Luke).

The Doctor Strange production team visited Northfleet where the industrial shoreline land was used to stage the stunt sequence at the beginning of the film where Dr Strange loses control of his car.

Northfleet a town North West in the Gravesham Borough of Kent and has excellent transport links being close to the M25 and Ebbsfleet International Train Station. The Gravesend area has previously welcomed filming from The Interceptor (2015), Don’t Tell the Bride (2013) and Canterbury Tales – The Seacaptain’s Tale (2003).

Doctor Strange is released in cinemas on 25^th October 2016.

Links:

For more information about filming in Kent please contact: filmoffice@kent.gov.uk

For more information on the film visit: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1211837/

For more information on Gravesend: http://www.visitgravesend.co.uk/

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map: https://kentfilmoffice.co.uk/kent-movie-map/moviemap-live-2/

Kent's Premier Film Commission

Action Adventure

Pokémon: Detective Pikachu (2019)

Wonder Woman (2017)

Doctor Strange (2016)