[attach id=521556 size="medium"]Photo: PA Wire[/attach]

A live action movie franchise based on Japanese video game Pokémon has been confirmed.

Legendary Entertainment, the media company behind Godzilla, Jurassic World and The Dark Knight Rises, has signed a deal with the Pokémon Company for the rights to create the feature films. Hollywood's interest in Pokémon comes after its recent resurgence in popularity following the launch of successful new app Pokémon Go.

The first film will reportedly be based on Nintendo game Great Detective Pikachu, which sees the famous yellow Pokémon act as an investigator on missions with a human accomplice.

Details about the movie are being kept a secret but Legendary said production will begin in 2017.

Pokémon Go was released in July and encourages users to explore the real world using their phone’s GPS and camera to catch the virtual monsters.

Players are known as trainers and much catch as many Pokémon as they can before utilising their unique skills during battles at local ‘gyms’.

The game has become a global phenomenon, with reports of it having 5.9 million daily users.

Pokémon – ­ a portmanteau of ‘pocket monsters’ – was launched in 1996 and has spawned several video games, a trading card game and a television show, as well as animated movies.