It was back in September than Capcom revealed that they were working on a Monster Hunter movie, but the project has now taken a massive step forward with the addition of Paul W.S. Anderson (Mortal Kombat, Resident Evil) as a producer. He's joined by partner Jeremy Bolt and they're now shopping it to studios. Anderson actually penned the screenplay, and that along with VFX renderings like the one you see below are being used to pitch the movie which VFX studio Mr. X. Anderson is also attached to.
"We were very respectful, down to me getting on a plane to Japan. But contractually, we could have just done whatever we wanted," Anderson said of his relationship with Capcom when it comes to bringing Monster Hunter to the big screen. Elaborating on their creative freedom, the filmmaker added: "What I love about Monster Hunter is the incredibly beautiful, immersive world they've created. It's on the level of like a Star Wars movie, in terms of world creation. There are no real central characters so it’s a bit like when we first approached Resident Evil and imposed our own characters and story on that world. I think this is a perfect IP for us to do exactly that same thing."
"You're fighting these giant creatures, some as big as a city block," he added. "They live underneath the Earth and when they burst out, it's like the best of Dune. You also have these flying dragons, giant spiders, the most wonderful creatures. That's what really attracted me. I felt there was a fresh, exciting world that we could expose and build a whole world around, like a Marvel or Star Wars universe. Everything is about world creation, nowadays, and how can you build a world where you can have multiple stories going on? I thought this was our opportunity to have a cinematic universe."
There's currently no word on a release date, but it sounds like Anderson will direct. Right now, he has at least two movies planned for Monster Hunter, while it's hoped that shooting will take place in China or South Africa with a budget similar to that of Resident Evil. Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, the filmmaker's last movie in the divisive series, is currently set to be released on January 27th, 2017.