Are you ready for Milla Jovovich as a Monster Hunter?

The date is out: the movie version of Monster Hunter will finally come to theaters on December 30th To accommodate his wife and frequent leading lady (in the Resident Evil series), director Paul Anderson created a brand new character for Milla Jovovich. Get ready to meet captain Natalie Artemis, a badass special unit commander who gets unexpectedly flung into the monsters’ world with her team.

The first short trailer, released at the beginning of October, reveals that Artemis will enjoy no luxury, just bare desert sands and wild creatures. No casinos this time, a type of surroundings that the Russian beauty likes. She presented “Resident Evil: Extinction” in a luxury casino resort in Nevada, then advertised Toyota on a trip to another luxury casino in Paris. If you like that atmosphere, take a tour of US Online Casinos and enjoy gaming to your heart content. That done, you are ready to follow captain Artemis in the wild outdoors.

A human character in a videogame context? Anderson made a bold choice here. He has explained why: “I wanted to recapture the feeling of when I first played the video game. I came to the game not knowing anything about it. And as a stranger, I was immersed in this world containing these amazing landscapes and these amazing creatures that would kick my ass.”

The shock is painted all over Jovovich-Artemis’ face in the first scene revealed by the trailer. “What the hell is THAT?” she utters, while her ice-blue eyes stare at a giant black Diablo emerging from the sands. According to Anderson, “Milla is the avatar for the audience. She’s the newbie going into this world. She’s the person from our world. Then there’s nothing about the Monster Hunter world that’s going in for the first time.”

While Natalie Artemis is a custom-made addition, created specifically for the movie, her future allies are straight from the game. The Hunter (an equivalent of the Field Team Leader in the game) is played by Tony Jaa and the Admiral by Ron Perlman. Artemis will have to learn from them how to survive in this world that is entirely new and strange to her. In the human world, she is a fierce warrior, but her U.S. Army Ranger’s skills are of little use in fighting 50-foot tall monsters in this alien world. Rathalos and Diablos will put her hard on the test, and she will also have to learn how to cooperate with the Hunter and the Admiral.

Anderson, a passionate fan of Monster Hunter, has also taken good care to have Palicoes (the field companions of the hunters) in the movie. He also has a soft spot for Meowscular Chef, a badass Felyne “who has this rather flirtatious relationship with Milla, which is really interesting.” Sounds cool. Fans of Jovovich are likely to wait impatiently for the December 30th premiere.