ACTRESS Kathryn Newton, who appeared in HBO’s “Big Little Lies,” has nabbed the female lead for Legendary’s live-action movie adaptation of “Pokemon.”

“The Get Down” star Justice Smith was picked as the male lead for the movie based on the gaming franchise and the project, titled “Detective Pikachu,” just wrapped an intense session of reading and testing actresses who would appear opposite him.

“Stranger Things” star Natalia Dyer, “Split” star Haley Lu Richardson and “13 Reasons Why” star Katherine Langford were also in the running for the role.

Newton, who had a big fall with roles in “Lady Bird” and “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” — both movies generating major awards buzz — is now in negotiations.

The concept of Pokemon, which was initially a card-collecting game as well as an anime, sees players acting as trainers who collect cute but powerful monsters called Pokemon in order to compete in battle tournaments.

Pikachu is a species of Pokemon, while Detective Pikachu the character is a peculiar sort from the Pikachu set, a self-styled investigator who befriends a human boy. Together they solve mysteries.

The role Newton nabbed is that of Lucy, a sassy journalist who goes on an adventure with the boy, played by Smith, and Pikachu, who will be a motion-capture creation for the movie. (In the “Pokemon” universe, Lucy also has her own Pokemon sidekick, a Psyduck. It is not known if he will appear in the movie.)

Production is due to start mid-January in London with Alex Hirsch and Nicole Perlman writing the latest draft. Universal will handle distribution of the live-action film outside Japan; Toho will handle distribution in Japan.(SD-Agencies)