Yes, you read that headline right, Monster Hunter movie. The film adaptation (using that term very loosely) of the action-RPG game series has its first trailer, and it’s a doozy.
Keeping things short and sweet, the 17-second teaser focuses on Milla Jovovich’s Capt. Natalie Artemis and Clifford Harris Jr.’s Link as they encounter one of the titular monsters for the first time. The behemoth in question looks like the massive, fearsome Diablos, and of course, the solution to this threat is to try pumping bullets into it from a turret and assault rifle. Meagan Good and Diego Boneta make brief appearances, too.
The most eye-catching part is the big “Only In Theaters” at the end. In July, the flick was delayed from September 2020 to April 2021, but this claims December. Who knows? Either feels wrecklessly optimistic at this point. But maybe another movie from Paul W. S. Anderson, the director behind most of the live-action Resident Evil films, is just what everyone needs. The plot involves the military squad we see here magically transported to the land of monsters and hunting, whereby they meet a group of actual hunters, featuring cinematic martial-arts legend Tony Jaa, of the Ong-Bak trilogy, and Ron Perlman. Jaa with the over-the-top action of the aforementioned Resi films makes this very alluring, to be honest.
If you’re curious about Capcom’s quasi-dinosaur-hunting series, you can currently find Monster Hunter: World reduced on Humble as part of the Monsters & Mayhem sale. You can also get Resident Evil 7, if you want a horror game either.
Monster Hunter: World had, by May of this year, sold more than five million copies, accounting for a third of the overall series sales. Its final, free update went live at the end of September. The Monster Hunter film will arrive sometime between December and April, so just be ready, I guess.