With Monster Hunter now playing in theaters, I recently spoke with writer-director Paul W. S. Anderson about adapting the popular video game series for movie screens. During the wide-ranging conversation, Anderson talked about why filming in real locations was so important, how they pulled off so many action scenes with their budget, why the film does some unexpected twists and turns, how if you’ve played the video game you’ll see a lot of stuff you know, why he wanted to make sure they pleased the creators of the game when designing the Palico cat, and more. In addition, with Anderson previously being involved in the Resident Evil franchise and helming so many sequels, I asked him his thoughts on Monster Hunter sequels and what they might include.

If you’re not familiar with Monster Hunter, the movie follows Lt. Artemis (Milla Jovovich) and her military crew (T.I., Meagan Good, Diego Boneta) after they are mysteriously transported to a completely foreign world where strange and unusual monsters with powers are around every corner. Monster Hunter also stars Tony Jaa, Josh Helman, Jin Au-Yeung, and Ron Perlman.

Finally, before getting to the interview, I wanted to quickly say I had a lot of fun with Monster Hunter. I haven’t played the game and didn’t know anything about the characters or world, but the movie is loaded with action and it had some really unexpected twists and turns that surprised me. If you’re looking for a fun popcorn movie you might want to check this one out.

Watch what Paul W. S. Anderson had to say below and further down the page is exactly what we talked about followed by the official synopsis.

Paul W. S. Anderson:

• How did they pull off the amount of action in Monster Hunter with the budget they had?
• Why filming in real locations was so important.
• How they shot on locations where no film had ever been.
• How they had to create tent villages hundreds of miles away from the newest city.
• On what day of the shoot did he realize shooting in the desert sucks?
• How if you’ve played the video game Monster Hunter the movie is loaded with stuff that brings the game to life.
• How the Palico cat you meet in the movie is taken directly from the game.
• Why he wanted to make sure they pleased the creators of the game.
• How the film does some unexpected twists and turns.
• Why he thinks genre audiences are so smart.
• Does he want to make Monster Hunter sequels?

Here’s the Monster Hunter official synopsis:

Behind our world, there is another: a world of dangerous and powerful monsters that rule their domain with deadly ferocity. When an unexpected sandstorm transports Captain Artemis (Milla Jovovich) and her unit (TI Harris, Meagan Good, Diego Boneta) to a new world, the soldiers are shocked to discover that this hostile and unknown environment is home to enormous and terrifying monsters immune to their firepower. In their desperate battle for survival, the unit encounters the mysterious Hunter (Tony Jaa), whose unique skills allow him to stay one step ahead of the powerful creatures. As Artemis and Hunter slowly build trust, she discovers that he is part of a team led by the Admiral (Ron Perlman). Facing a danger so great it could threaten to destroy their world, the brave warriors combine their unique abilities to band together for the ultimate showdown.