Constantin Films' 'Monster Hunter' Movie Has Been Completed As 'Resident Evil' Netflix Series Is In Limbo
It's a rough time for big and small-screen adaptations of video game characters. Specifically, video characters who are being adapted to film and TV by Constantin Film. The Resident Evil production company has offered updates on its current projects: ScreenGems' Monster Hunter starring Milla Jovovich, and the Netflix Resident Evil series which was meant to start production in June.
In an interview with Deadline, Constantin Film chief Martin Moszkowicz revealed that the Milla Jovovich-led Monster Hunter movie directed by Paul W.S. Anderson has been completed as Netflix's Resident Evil series remains in limbo amid shutdowns due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The Resident Evil series, which was picked up by Netflix in January 2019, was set to begin shooting in June 2020. The series would tell new stories set in the Resident Evil universe established in the six films also led by Jovovich. Based on Capcom's wildly popular video game series, the films were critically derided but box office successes, raking in $1.2 billion worldwide. The show's production hub is based in South Africa and on-location prep work was scheduled to begin in April, but work has stalled as productions across the world have shut down in response to the global coronavirus pandemic. Moszkowicz said that Constantin is in discussions with the streamer over when to reschedule the series.
But despite the indefinite delays for the Resident Evil series, Constantin finished the work on Monster Hunter in time for its planned September 4, 2020 release. They are "delivering it this week" to Screen Gems, Moszkowicz said.
Monster Hunter is the only major release Screen Gems still has set for 2020, but with studios starting to push their tentpoles into 2021 as the coronavirus crisis wears on, it's uncertain whether it will stay that way. Directed by master of trash Paul W.S. Anderson (Alien vs. Predator, Death Race, Pompeii), Monster Hunter isn't necessarily fated to be a box office bomb, but Screen Gems may want to play it safe with the action film, which stars Jovovich and Ong-Bak star Tony Jaa as monster hunters with giant swords, as the immediate future of the movie-going industry remains uncertain.