The Monster Hunter movie has been delayed and will now premiere in 2021 (via PC Gamer). The project has been pretty quiet for some time, despite news last year that suggested it was proceeding well. Having a delay be the first major news on the project in some time is sure to disappoint some fans.
Directed by Paul W. S. Anderson, the film was immediately met with disdain from fans. Many of the video game adaptations helmed by Paul W. S. Anderson have been poorly received. Despite high budgets and some attempts to be faithful, the Resident Evil series in particular truly suffered in the move to the silver screen. The film franchise dropped in quality as the sequels dragged on. And despite making money overall, many fans of the game laughed it off at the best of times.
Fearing that a Monster Hunter movie would likely get a similar bad treatment, the fan response to plot reveals was really negative. The film follows another cast starring Milla Jovovich as Lieutenant Artemis, Tony Jaa as The Hunter, T.I. as Link, and Ron Perlman as The Admiral in a story that’s only vaguely reminiscent of the actual games. Jovovich takes on the role of a modern soldier trapped in a strange alien world, a twist that feels plucked right out of fan fiction. And given how much her main character Alice from the Resident Evil series embodied a “mary sue” trope, it feels fitting.
A trailer also showed iconic monsters from the film and some characters that gamers will recognize from Monster Hunter World. Although it was a teaser so not much about the quality of the film can be gleaned from it.
The production delays were announced as part of a push by the studios behind the project to adjust to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. According to Deadline, the delay has caused issues for the film, and it will no longer be released on September 4, 2020. Now the film will release on April 23, 2021.
It does make sense though, as some of the biggest movie markets in the world are racked with an uncontrolled spread of the virus. The US, in particular, would be a major market for the film, and the studio wants to avoid any potential contribution to the problem. And not a lot of people even want to go to the movies anyway, they have more important things to worry about, like not dying.
The cast will comprise of Milla Jovovich as Lieutenant Artemis, Tony Jaa as The Hunter, T.I. as Link, and Ron Perlman as The Admiral, and we’ll also see some fresh faces to reflect the customisation possibilities of the player character. According to Deadline, the delay is to do with the continued coronavirus crisis, and it will no longer be released on September 4, 2020. It will hit the silver screen on April 23, 2021, and the report goes on to add that “we’re poised to see the entire August release schedule slide into the fall.”
