If you were following the Academy Awards race in 2023, you may recall a surprising video game cameo in one of its Best Picture nominees. The film Tár infamously includes a major narrative beat that revolves around Monster Hunter — a surprising moment for a drama about the classical music world. In an interview with Digital Trends, Monster Hunter producer Ryozo Tsujimoto finally explained how the scene came to be.
In Tár, Cate Blanchett plays Lydia Tár, a composer who becomes embroiled in controversy over her inappropriate relationships with young musicians. In the film’s final sequence, we see a disgraced Tár, now ousted from her prestigious job as chief conductor of the Berlin Orchestra, conducting a performance in the Philippines. It’s revealed that she’s taken a gig conducting a Monster Hunter live show to a crowd of cosplayers.
Tsujimoto tells Digital Trends that the team is very much aware of the sequence. In fact, they were eager to agree to the project when it was pitched to them and felt the series was in the right hands.
“The production side was the one to reach out to us to saying that they’d like to use the soundtrack for Monster Hunter in the movie,” Tsujimoto tells Digital Trends. “The development team was very happy about it; we said yes right away! Working with them, we understood that the production team really respected Monster Hunter.”
That last part is particularly notable, as Tár’s ending can be interpreted as a bit of a jab at Monster Hunter. One popular read of the film notes that Monster Hunter is used to show how far the composer has fallen, as she now has to slum it by performing video game music for gaming nerds rather than classical music enthusiasts. Other interpretations are friendlier towards the series, seeing the scene as more of a knock on Tár’s ego than Monster Hunter itself.
Regardless of how you see it, Tsujimoto was simply happy to be included, letting out a big laugh when I noted that Monster Hunter was now immortalized in a Best Picture nominee.
“We were very happy to be recognized like that,” Tsujimoto says. “It used to be thought of as a title that’s only popular in Japan, but because of Monster Hunter World, people became more and globally supportive. We were able to receive this great, great opportunity, so as an IP we’re very happy.”
Hopefully that means we’ll get a Lydia Tár crossover in Monster Hunter Wilds, which launches on February 28 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
