Will There Be A Sequel To Monster Hunter? Here's What We Know
(Welcome to Will There Be a Sequel?, a series where we answer that question and explore what comes next.)
"Monster Hunter," a movie that gave Paul W. S. Anderson and his muse/wife Milla Jovovich yet another chance to get silly with big, dumb action movie mayhem, had a rough time of it at the box office. The film was by no means a hit, which is bad news for pretty much everyone involved. Like most big movies based on pre-existing IP, the plan was for "Monster Hunter" to launch a film franchise. But the prospects of that seem extremely dim at the moment.
Monster Hunter
Based very loosely on the video game series of the same name by Capcom, "Monster Hunter" arrived in theaters when most other movies had fled due to COVID-19. Opening the film on December 4, 2020 in China, and in the United States on December 18, 2020, Sony perhaps thought that since "Monster Hunter" was one of the few theatrical releases of the holiday season they'd reap all the potential holiday box office rewards. They were wrong. The film only took in $44.4 million on a $60 million budget. It didn't help matters that "Monster Hunter" featured a joke that was considered racist to Chinese audiences – so much so that the film ended up being pulled from circulation in China (the joke was subsequently removed from the film).
In "Monster Hunter,"
Behind our world, there is another – a world of dangerous and powerful monsters that rule their domain with deadly ferocity. When Lt. Artemis and her loyal soldiers are transported from our world to the new one, the unflappable lieutenant receives the shock of her life. In a desperate battle for survival against enormous enemies with incredible powers and unstoppable, terrifying attacks, Artemis teams up with a mysterious hunter who has found a way to fight back.
The film was ... okay, I guess? It's not unwatchable, and there is a certain fun to be had in seeing Milla Jovovich and Tony Jaa run around fighting giant monsters. But that fun only gets you so far. And just to make things extra frustrating, "Monster Hunter" ends with a cliffhanger setting up a sequel. So will that sequel ever actually arrive?
Monster Hunter 2?
A month before "Monster Hunter" opened, director Paul W.S. Anderson said: "I've been working on 'Monster Hunter' for 11 years ... There's hundreds of monsters [in the game]. I can only use five or six of them in the movie. So it's a big, fun world that I think we've only just started to scratch the surface of."
Star Milla Jovovich added:
"Definitely, we would love to make another one. Hopefully people are going to love it because I know Paul would love to make a sequel. I mean, he's already writing something ... "
Of course, you don't have to be a financial expert to note that a $44.4 million total box office haul on a $60 million budget is not great. Yes, the pandemic no doubt played a part in that figure, which means Sony could have some sympathy and let Anderson and company try again. As of right now, though, it seems highly unlikely that "Monster Hunter 2" will be happening anytime soon.