Monster Hunter film director inspired by Metal Gear crossover

The movie is set to launch later this month.

The director of the upcoming Monster Hunter film, Paul WS Anderson, has said that the movie is inspired by Konami's Metal Gear Solid franchise.

Speaking on a recent Capcom USA Twitch stream, the director said that the decision to make the film's protagonist – played by Milla Jovovich – a member of the military was the Hunting Quests side missions for PlayStation Portable title Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. In this release, protagonist Snake has to first creatures such as Rathalos and Tigrex from fellow PSP title Monster Hunter Portable 3rd.

"I was very influenced by a crossover Monster Hunter had done with Metal Gear Solid," Anderson explained.

"This is great imagery to juxtapose a man with a machine gun against the creatures."

The Monster Hunter film went into production in September 2018 with a budget that's estimated to be in the region of $60 million. The first look at the film came in February 2020 with posters showing off the main characters, played by Jovovich and Tony Jaa. A trailer debuted in October.

Anderson already is working on sequels for the Monster Hunter movie.

The film was initially slated for release in April 2021, but has been moved to December 25.

This isn't the first time that Anderson has worked on a Capcom IP. The director is probably best known these days for his adaptation of the Resident Evil series, which debuted in 2002 and ran until 2016. A reboot of the Resident Evil film series is in the work.