Monster Hunter World isn't out until December 25 for most of us, but an early release in China has sparked controversy and seen the movie pulled from several theaters due to a line that has caused offence to Chinese moviegoers.
As reported by Variety, "a ten second-long exchange in the film" that "insults China" will now be censored by Chinese regulators. A revised version of the movie will reportedly be circulated overnight, although conflicting reports also state that "the release of even a censored version is effectively halted".
Industry analyst Daniel Ahmad shared the offensive clip via social media, and then detailed how Chinese moviegoers were registering their unhappiness by review bombing the game on Steam.
Meanwhile on the Monster Hunter World (Steam) review page.The movie is also getting a lot of negative reviews on Chinese movie sites like Douban too. Its rating has dropped a lot over the past few hours. pic.twitter.com/K82zB3zfxtDecember 4, 2020
"Meanwhile on the Monster Hunter World (Steam) review page..." Ahmad wrote, adding an image of the game's most recent reviews. "The movie is also getting a lot of negative reviews on Chinese movie sites like Douban too. Its rating has dropped a lot over the past few hours.
"Capcom has issued a statement on social media due to the backlash, stating that it is aware of the situation and the controversy," Ahmad added in a subsequent tweet. "That it is not the producer on the MH movie and that it will report the situation to the relevant film companies to investigate."
The Monster Hunter movie stars Milla Jovovich as Captain Natalie Artemis, who's leading an elite military force to survival after they fall through a portal and land themselves in Monsterville. A skilled monster hunter, played by Tony Jaa, is around to show them the ropes.
The movie versions of Diablos, Nerscylla, Apceros, and Rathalos were all included in the latest trailer, and at the very end we got to see a Palico that we're pretty sure is the Meowscular Chef from Monster Hunter World. Director Paul Anderson recently confirmed that the Monster Hunter movie will feature the feline chef, who you may remember as the former Palico partner of the Admiral in Monster Hunter World.
The Monster Hunter movie is still set to debut in theaters on December 25, five days earlier than originally planned.
Anderson already has ideas for a Monster Hunter movie sequel - see what else is on the way with our guide to upcoming movies.
