Monster Hunter shared a clip featuring the monster named Rathalos at the Brazil Online Comic-Con (CCXP) last week!
So far, we know of two more monsters in the film namely: Diablos and Gore Magala. As seen in the posters below, they look as menacing as they should be.
One of the posters also features the Palico (seen below), a hunter’s reliable comrade in the field who’s also specialized in a variety of offensive, defensive and restorative abilities.
As such, its presence in any Hunter group is as bona fide as it gets.
Anderson loved the games and fell in love with the imagery, landscapes and the magic of the game. “As I played, I began to imagine it cinematically,” he said.
Fortunately, the gameplay of Monster Hunter: World doesn’t rely on a narrative so he had free rein to invent a story.
“It felt like an amazing opportunity to build a whole world on the movie screen, and there were countless stories to tell within that world. The more I thought about it, the more stories and characters began to take root.”
He has shown a few clips to the creators of the game who both liked how close the big screen adaptation is to their game. It was important to the filmmakers and Capcom alike that the film reflect the fan-favorite monsters.
“That’s especially true for the fans of the game – they want to see their favourites to come to life. And that includes me. I might be the writer-director of the movie, but I was a fan first,” said Anderson.
The game creators and the filmmakers spent hours fine-tuning the minute details of the monsters, right down to eye colour and claw nails.
“We spent a lot of time together with the filmmakers to ensure that the details of our monsters were true to the game. They were very patient and receptive to lots of our feedback,” says Ryozo Tsujimoto, producer of the Monster Hunter series of games.
According to Kaname Fujioka, Executive Director/Art Director of the game Monster Hunter: World, that time and effort in collaboration paid off.
“When we finally saw the finished film, we were very impressed with how beautifully the world of Monster Hunter was blended with the world of live action,” he said.
“Seeing the monsters come alive on a huge movie screen, with all the visual details and sounds, was such a special moment. It was as if the monsters were transported from the game to the movie world, and I strongly felt the filmmakers’ enthusiasm and passion about how to capture the strength and vitality of the monsters. I think fans will enjoy seeing how wonderfully the monsters are portrayed in this film.”
Anderson decided that the screenplay should take a grounded approach to the wild fantasy elements of monster hunting so that the real-world audience have something to latch on to.
“It was important to us to make a grounded film. If the audience is going to enter the monster world, the characters in the movie should journey with them,” says producer Robert Kulzer.
“My approach is always to make things as real as possible,” said Anderson.
“We were inspired by the amazing landscapes in the game to go to some of the most incredible landscapes of our real world. When we weren’t shooting in the natural world, we were shooting on very, very large sets. Very rarely did we put an actor in front of a green screen to generate an environment. 80% of this movie is real, and the 20% that is not real are the creatures.”
“The movie pays honour not just to the Monster Hunter: World game, but to the entire franchise that I personally have loved for ten years now,” he added.
“The game creators have created a richly textured world, and we embraced that.”
Movie plot
Based on the global video game series phenomenon Monster Hunter, the film directed by Paul WS Anderson brings the world of dangerous and powerful monsters to the big screens.
When an unexpected sandstorm transports Lt. Artemis (Milla Jovovich) and her unit (Tip “T.I.” Harris, Meagan Good, Diego Boneta) to a new world, the soldiers are shocked to discover that this hostile and unknown environment is home to enormous and terrifying monsters immune to their firepower.
In their desperate battle for survival, the unit encounters a mysterious Hunter (Tony Jaa), whose unique skills allow him to stay one step ahead of the powerful creatures. As Artemis and the Hunter slowly build trust, she discovers that he is part of a team led by the Admiral (Ron Perlman).
Facing a danger so great it could threaten to destroy their world, the brave warriors combine their unique abilities to band together for the ultimate showdown.
Monster Hunter will be shown in Malaysian cinemas on 28 January 2021.
