The Pokémon Company surprised fans by unveiling Pokémon: Wild Card, a new animated feature film built entirely around the Trading Card Game. The announcement came during the closing ceremony of the 2026 Pokémon World Championships in San Francisco, as part of the franchise’s 30th anniversary celebrations.
The film is directed by Katsuhiko Kitada, with character designs by Akemi Hayashi, produced in partnership with Japanese animation studio CloverWorks. It follows a Pokémon TCG player and his partner Mimikyu as they strive to become champions.
This marks the first Pokémon theatrical film since Pokémon: Secrets of the Jungle in 2020, ending a seven-year gap for the franchise’s movies. It’s also the first time the TCG itself takes center stage in a Pokémon film, following the 2023 miniseries Path to the Peak.
A worldwide release is set for 2027. A teaser trailer was released alongside the announcement, showing the lead character and Mimikyu ahead of a decisive card game.