The Milla Jovovich-starring Monster Hunter film from Screen Gems and Sony Pictures was set to land in theaters on September 4th. Though there’s no official word on why the push is taking place, it stands to reason ongoing concerns regarding coronavirus are a motivating factor. As such, the Monster Hunter adaptation will now release next spring on April 23, 2021.
Director Paul W.S. Anderson, who directed Jovovich in a slew of Resident Evil movies, helmed Monster Hunter’s big screen debut. Jovovich’s return for another Capcom adaptation places her alongside a cast that includes T.I. (ATL, Takers), Tony Jaa (xXx: Return of Xander Cage), and Ron Perlman (Hellboy).
In Monster Hunter, Jovovich assumes the role of a Lieutenant named Artemis. When Artemis and her soldiers crash land on a dangerous world, they find themselves fighting for their survival against monstrous creatures whose incredible powers prove difficult to combat. Filmmakers have promised massive 50-foot beasts that rival the dinosaurs in Jurassic World. “All our monsters are 50-60 feet tall. They’re really amazing. We’re building them in even more detail than the dinosaurs of Jurassic World,” Anderson said. “And they look even better, because we shot on real locations in South Africa and Namibia, which gives the animators something to really match into: real wind, real dust, real sun-flare. The monsters are the only CG thing in there.”
Capcom unleashed the first Monster Hunter game on PlayStation 2 in 2004. Since then, several other titles have joined the series, including quite a few spinoffs. The most recent entry, Monster Hunter: World, is what truly put the franchise on the map, bringing it back to consoles and a prominence to Western audiences.
Monster Hunter: World hit stores early in 2018, but has already become the best-selling game in Capcom’s lengthy history. As of earlier this year, the 2018 release had crossed a whopping 15 million units sold worldwide. Its Iceborne expansion is now slouch either, recently topping sales of over 4.5 million.
It, of course, remains to be seen whether the Monster Hunter film will rake in a notable level of success in its own right.
