After an elite team of commandos scour through a desert in search of a missing squad, the last thing they expected to find was a parallel universe filled with gigantic, ruthless beasts. Classic 2020, amirite?
The group, led by Milla Jovovich’s Captain Artemis, will have to learn new ways to wage war against these towering predators if they want to stand a chance of returning back home. Unfortunately, they’ll be pitted against devilish dragons and sinister spiders throughout their journey, all of whom have one consistent feature – they’re enormous. But which monsters are the group up against, and what makes them so formidable?
Black Diablos
The Black Diablos might not be the most powerful beast in Monster Hunter, but a group of females are the first terrifying threat Artemis and her squad face when they’re dropped into unknown territory. Unfortunately for the soldiers, the female Black Diablos are much more aggressive than the males of the species. It’s probably because she’s overprotective of all her eggs hidden in her abdomen. If the short temper wasn’t enough, she’s also larger and stronger too.
Standing at 7.3 meters tall, the Black Diablos the team first come across swats their humvee away like a toy. They’re going to need some expert assistance from Tony Jaa’s Hunter if they want to take it down because their assault rifles barely put a crack in the monster’s tough, black scales. It won’t be easy getting close to the beast, of course, there’s an intimidating set of horns on its head that can do some serious damage. They’ll need to be careful if the Black Diablos burrows into the sand, they love to surprise their prey by bursting out from underground.
Rathalos
Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s a Rathalos… RUNAWAY. This giant, winged predator not only dominates the world, but it completely rules the sky. The 14-meter long Fire Wyvern uses its aerial tactical advantage to ambush its targets when they least expect it. It’s not an easy foe to defeat, especially since it dwarfs the human race in size. There’s no wonder it’s called the “King of the Sky”.
This fire-breathing monstrosity (oh yeah, it shoots fire from its mouth because of course it does) has incredibly accurate aim when spitting fireballs at its prey. It also has a spiked club at the end of its tail, just because it needs maximum ferocity at both ends. The Rathalos is obviously an Apex predator and it’s incredibly difficult to bring one down. The footage we’ve seen so far from the film proves just how intimidating the Wyvern can be – especially when it easily takes down a helicopter. It can even grip an entire wing of a plane in its claws. The dragon Smaug doesn’t seem so intimidating now, does he?
Nerscylla
Creepy, armoured, spiders. That’s it, that’s the Nerscylla. Even writing about this one puts us on edge. Not only are these arachnid beasts stealthy hunters, but they have an intimidating set of claws that can cut its prey to ribbons. Like normal spiders, they spin webs to create nests – which would definitely be a terrifying place to spend your final moments. Unlike normal spiders, they’re also about twice the size of human beings…
This spider/scorpion hybrid also boasts a venomous stinger – because clearly whoever created it wanted to deliver some nightmare fuel. It also has a collection of poisonous spikes protruding out of its back – which is covered in the skin of another unknown monster that it’s killed. Gross. Instead of attacking its prey head-on like the Black Diablos or the Rathalos, the Nerscylla is a stealthy stalker as it prefers to scuttle around in the darkness. Silent, but no less deadly.
Palico
Surprisingly, the Monster Hunter world isn’t completely filled with intimidating beasts that could tear Artemis limb-from-limb. Sure, there are giant spiders and behemoth dragons skulking around the mythical land – but it’s balanced out by the giant, anthropomorphic cats called Felynes… How inventive. But when these talking, furry companions don a set of armour and work with hunters in the battlefield, they’re known as Palicoes.
Aside from being talented in a battle, Palicoes can offer medical help and support to hunters. Let’s hope they don’t get distracted by cat-toys, mice, or the burning desire to knock stuff off of high places. The film sees a retired fighter called Meowscular Chef (yes, really) pick up the sword once more to help Artemis and her team return home. He’s taller than the average Palico and previously fought alongside the Admiral of the Research Commission (played by Ron Perlman). As his name suggests, the Meowscular Chef is also a pretty talented cook. All we’re saying is, the film better look after him – we want a Palico spin-off movie. Release the Meowscular Chef cut.
Monster Hunter arrives December 2020.
