Paul W.S. Anderson’s Monster Hunter is still playing in theaters, having held on to a Top 10 spot at the domestic box office since it was first released at the end of December, but the filmmaker hasn’t taken long to settle on his next project.
Based on his output, it shouldn’t be a surprise to discover that Milla Jovovich has signed on to play the female lead, while the project itself boasts the fantasy and action adventure trappings that have characterized Anderson’s career over the last quarter of a century. Adapted from a short story by George R.R. Martin, Dave Bautista is also on board for In the Lost Lands, and the logline makes it sound right up the Resident Evil duo’s street.
Jovovich will play a powerful and feared sorceress named Alys hired by a queen desperate to gain the ability to shapeshift, while Bautista will star as Boyce, a drifter who accompanies her into the titular ghostly wilderness. Once there, they have to fight to outrun men and demons, and presumably there’s going to be more than a little romantic friction for good measure.
Anderson will write the script and produce alongside regular collaborator Jeremy Bolt through their Impact Pictures banner, with the duo once again partnering up with production company and distributor Constantin Film, and Bautista will also get a producing credit thanks to the involvement of his longtime manager and business partner Jonathan Meisner’s Dream Bros Entertainment.
An effects-heavy fantasy with action elements like In the Lost Lands is exactly the sort of project you’d expect Paul W.S. Anderson and Milla Jovovich to lend their names to, and while their movies don’t exactly reap critical rewards, they’ve still managed to earn billions at the box office.