Paul W.S. Anderson Says Monster Hunter is 100 Percent Finished

Last month, it was announced that Paul W.S. Anderson’s forthcoming film adaptation of Monster Hunter had been officially pushed back from September 2020 to April 23, 2021. Because of this, some people have speculated that the delay might be caused by potential post-production problems due to the film’s expected high visual effects, however, in a new interview with Syfy Wire, Anderson has debunked those speculations by confidently revealing that he has already completed his newest Milla Jovovich-led action film.

“The movie is 100 percent finished,” Anderson said. “We were supposed to be releasing it on Labor Day weekend but we pushed it into 2021, but it’s completely done. So it’s coming out April 23 of next year. For me, it’s my most favorite movie I’ve ever made. It has a rather unique look to it.”

In addition, the English filmmaker also teased the epic and very real locations that they got to shoot in for the film. “I felt it was really important to get out on location and shoot if we wanted to do justice to the amazing landscapes form the game, and that’s exactly what we did. We shot the movie in Africa and we’ve got lush jungles, we’ve got deserts that reflect the Wildspire Waste from the game, and beautiful, stunning locations, some of which have never been shot before. And there’s a reason for that because they were just in the middle of nowhere.

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He continued, “So rather than being in Pinewood Studios and shooting it against a green screen, we’re on these epic, real locations with real lens flare, real dust, real foliage, real water…Real environments that the animators can lock the creatures into. It’s given the movie a really epic, lush feel that I’m very, very excited about.”

Monster Hunter centers on the leader of a UN military team named Artemis, played by Jovovich, who is transported to another realm populated by monsters. There she meets the Hunter (Jaa), with the two teaming up to close a portal to prevent monsters from attacking earth. The movie will be a highly stylish big-screen adaptation of the video game.

The film adaptation will be led by Milla Jovovich (Resident Evil franchise) and Tony Jaa. It will also star Ron Perlman (Hellboy, Drive), T.I. Harris (Ant-Man and The Wasp), Diego Boneta (Luis Miguel, Rock of Ages), Meagan Good (Code Black), and Josh Helman (X-Men: Days of Future Past).

Monster Hunter is written and directed by Paul W.S. Anderson. The film is a production by Sony Pictures, Constantin Film and Impact Pictures with Anderson, Jeremy Bolt, Robert Kulzer, Martin Moszkowicz, and Dennis Berardi serving as producers.

The video game series consists of action role-playing games where players and their friends work together to take down larger-than-life beasts in a living, breathing ecosystem. Since the first Monster Hunter title made its debut 14 years ago in 2004, the series has attracted a dedicated fan base, and grown into a global mega-hit with Monster Hunter: World, the latest title in the series, shipping 10 million units worldwide, with cumulative sales of the series exceeding 49 million units as of August 20, 2018.