The Monster Hunter movie trailer has been leaked online, and to be honest, I cannot wait for the official release by Screen Gems.
The teaser has the characteristics of your “run of the mill” leak: Captured in secret? Check. Blurry quality because a smartphone was used? Check. Too short to gather anything concrete, but long enough for fans to make speculations? Check and check.
The trailer was shown during the Shanghai International Film Festival and although it ran only for a measly 30 seconds, it showed enough to stir interest for both die-hard fans of the franchise and newbies.
The teaser showed a barren desert setting for most of its duration, and also included stars Mila Jovovich and Tony Jaa. For a while, it seemed reminiscent of a certain video-game based film shot mostly in a sand-filled Las Vegas (cough, Resident Evil Apocalypse, cough). The monsters emerging from the desert landscape put an end to those thoughts immediately, though.
Diablos, an enormous horned-dragon, was the first sneak peek of the monsters that can be expected to be present in the movie. Avid players of Monster Hunter: World can attest to the formidability of this specific monster and its hold over Wildspire Waste. We would expect nothing less from its movie counterpart.
Another monster which some have concluded to be Rathalos can be seen rushing towards the screen in a fiery blaze near the end of the teaser.
Gamers and movie buffs alike can’t help but share the same sentiments regarding a movie adaptation of a storied video game franchise: It has a good chance of being bad, but we can’t help but root for it. Personally, I believe that it is in good hands. Capcom’s first foray into filmmaking was for the financially successful Resident Evil movie franchise. Paul W.S Anderson will be at the helm of the film. Known as the creative voice behind the Resident Evil movie series and the director behind the first movie of the Mortal Kombat movie series, it should at least provide assurance that the movie will entertain. As to whether it will please critics, we will have to wait for a final release.
Monster Hunter is slated for release on September 4, 2020. The Iceborne expansion for Monster Hunter World, however, will be released on September 6, 2019.