Monster Hunter (film)

Monster Hunter is an upcoming fantasy action thriller film directed and written by Paul W. S. Anderson. It is loosely based on the video game series of same name, produced by Capcom. The film is being produced by Impact Pictures and Constantin Film. The film stars Milla Jovovich, Tony Jaa, T.I., Ron Perlman, Meagan Good and Diego Boneta.

It is scheduled to be released on September 4, 2020, by Screen Gems.

Premise
A United Nations military team falls into a portal to an alternate dimension, where humans fight off giant monsters. The two groups work together to defend the portal to prevent monsters from entering the portal and invading Earth.

Cast

 * Milla Jovovich as Captain Natalie Artemis, a member of a United Nations military team
 * Tony Jaa as The Hunter, one of many skilled warriors that fight giant monsters
 * Clifford "T.I." Harris, Jr. as Link
 * Ron Perlman as Admiral
 * Diego Boneta
 * Meagan Good
 * Josh Helman
 * Jin Au-Yeung

Production
In 2012, it was reported that Resident Evil director Paul W. S. Anderson might direct a film adaptation of Monster Hunter franchise. Anderson stated in a 2018 interview with /Film that he had been a fan of the series for over nine years, having gotten to play it on his frequent travels to Japan, and considered a film adaption as a "passion project".

During the September 2016 Tokyo Game Show Capcom producer Ryozo Tsujimoto stated that a live-action Monster Hunter film was in development within Hollywood. In November 2016, Deadline reported that Anderson and producer Jeremy Bolt, both who helped to bring Capcom's Resident Evil game to a series of films, had obtained the rights from Capcom for the Monster Hunter adoption after about five years of discussion. The two anticipate a series of Monster Hunter films. Anderson said he was drawn to the Monster Hunter property, not only because of the series' popularity, but also for the "incredibly beautiful, immersive world they've created". Anderson had already penned out a script, which would involve an American being dragged into the parallel universe that the Monster Hunter series was set in, learning how to fight monsters, and then had to deal with the situation when monsters cross back into the real world and start attacking, such as a final climatic battle at Los Angeles International Airport. Constantin Film has confirmed they will be producing the film, with the aim of going into production in late 2017 or early 2018.

During the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, Constantin affirmed that the film is set to start production in September 2018 in and around Cape Town and South Africa, with an estimated US$60 million budget. Milla Jovovich has been cast for the film. Special effects studio Mr. X, which also worked on the Resident Evil films, will also be involved in production. Constantin worked with several international distributors for release rights, while Constantin will finance the film's production. On September 25, 2018, rapper T.I. and Ron Perlman were cast in the $60 million budgeted film, in which T.I. would play Link, a sniper, while Perlman would play Admiral, the leader of the Hunter's Crew, with the filming set to begin in October 2018 in South Africa. Tony Jaa was also cast in the film to play the male lead, playing character, The Hunter. In October 2018, Diego Boneta joined the film to play a character as a communications specialist. Anderson stated that while there are some novel characters in the game, reflecting on the series' custom character creator, but will include characters essential to the series, including the Handler and the Admiral. He also stated that they will not need to create any new monsters, as the series has enough variety that they will be able to pull from for the film.

Furthering on Anderson's appreciation of the game, he stated that all of the armor and weapons that the Hunters will wear will be based on the equipment from the game series, and will include at least one character that wears a mis-matched set of armor, which reflects on the player's ability within the game to mix and match armor sets for beneficial results. Anderson wanted to use various settings in the film to match the variety in a game, though recognized that one would not see as much variety in the film as one would see in playing a Monster Hunter game for several hours.

Principal photography on the film began on October 5, 2018 in Cape Town, South Africa. Milla Jovovich announced on Instagram that principal photography was completed on December 19, 2018.

Release
It is scheduled to be released on September 4, 2020.