A new synopsis for Paul W.S. Anderson’s upcoming Monster Hunter film has been released and, perhaps to the surprise of absolutely nobody, it appears as if the director has decided not to take a major criticism of his previous work on board.
For those unfamiliar with the filmmaker up until recently, Anderson’s last major project, the six-part Resident Evil movie franchise, didn’t exactly go over well with hardcore fans of Capcom’s source material, many of which criticized the adaptation for straying too far from the games and making unnecessary changes to the overarching plot. Despite that backlash, however, next year’s Monster Hunter (pushed back from its initial September 4th release due to COVID-19) looks set to repeat those decisions, this time by completely rewriting the series’ backstory for seemingly no discernible reason.
The blurb in its entirety reads as follows:
Behind our world, there is another: a world of dangerous and powerful monsters that rule their domain with deadly ferocity. When an unexpected sandstorm transports Lt. Artemis (Milla Jovovich) and her unit (TI 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 the mysterious Hunter (Tony Jaa), whose unique skills allow him to stay one step ahead of the powerful creatures. As Artemis and 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.
The decision to have Lt. Artemis and her retinue wind up in Monster Hunter‘s primal universe via a freak weather event – and, by extension, the existence of two separate worlds – are concepts entirely new to Monster Hunter, which traditionally takes place in an unnamed location where humans are simply native settlers. As for the reason behind this major change? It’s almost certainly a variation on the same one often rolled out for these types of movies: that audiences supposedly need a relatable lead character which, in this case, consists of a soldier from Earth finding themselves in a strange land. Not a tired trope at all, then.
Monster Hunter is now scheduled for release in theaters on 22nd April next year. See here for all the latest developments.