Milla Jovovoich, Tony Jaa With a Jawblade from ‘Monster Hunter’ Movie

We finally have our first “official” look at Milla Jovovich as Artemis and Tony Jaa as The Hunter in Sony and Screen Gem’s live-action Monster Hunter film.

Posted yesterday by the official Sony Twitter account, the image features Jovovich’s character Artemis and Jaa’s character The Hunter running through the white sands of the desert.

Oh, and a jawblade. Did we mention the jawblade?!

Official first look at Milla Jovovich as Artemis and Tony Jaa as The Hunter in MONSTER HUNTER, in production now. #MonsterHunterMovie pic.twitter.com/PWZvFvVkQ0

— Sony Pictures (@SonyPictures) November 20, 2018

In an interview with IGN, Monster Hunter director Paul W.S. Anderson (who is also Jovovoich’s husband) confirmed that Artemis is a ‘new’ character, but her gear will be straight out of the video game:

Anderson told IGN that while Artemis is an original character, her armor, and in turn, all equipment in the movie, is taken directly from the games. He continued, saying the mismatched aspect of her costume is a nod to a character; that a player might customize from different sets.

“The beauty of the costumes and the landscapes from the Monster Hunter game really kind of came out in that image. She is the game player, in a way, she is the audience’s avatar, their way into the world.”

While talking about the South African filming location, Anderson (who is a self-professed fan of the game) said:

“We’re going into a much more rocky landscapes as well, we’re getting out of the desert and going much more rocky. There’s a chunk of the movie that’s actually set underground as well, in terrifying caves. There’s a more lush part of the movie, which kind of reflects the kind of lush, more jungle-y look of the Monster Hunter world. And then the climax of the movie takes place around a piece of the Ancient Civilization that’s, it’s kind of referenced many times in the Monster Hunter games.

The idea that there was this Ancient Civilization that existed in the deep parts, and which, when you’re playing the games, you sometimes kind of stumble upon the ruins of this civilization, an advanced civilization that brought about its own destruction. And one of those sets of ruins provides a big backdrop for the final act of the film. So it’s a pretty varied landscape. I mean, you’re not gonna get as many landscapes as you would if you spent fifty hours playing Monster Hunter World, but I think for a two-hour movie, you’re going to really go on an amazing journey with amazing visuals.”

Monster Hunter also stars Meagan Good, T.I. Harris, Diego Boneta, and Ron Perlman. We don’t have a release date yet, but chances are we’ll get one soon.