Universal Pictures Cancels The Release of The THE HUNT Due To Mass Shootings

Universal Pictures has pulled their new thriller The Hunt off of the release schedule due to the mass shootings that have been taking place around the country as well as political controversy. Universal released the following statement:

“While Universal Pictures had already paused the marketing campaign for The Hunt, after thoughtful consideration, the studio has decided to cancel our plans to release the film. We stand by our filmmakers and will continue to distribute films in partnership with bold and visionary creators, like those associated with this satirical social thriller, but we understand that now is not the right time to release this film.”

The film tells the story of twelve strangers who are kidnapped from conservative red states. They are referred to as “deplorables” and they are put in a forest and hunted down by rich liberals like wild game. The movie is suppose to be satirical, but Fox News and Trump have come down on the movie.

While the movie isn’t being released on September 27th as previously planned, it sounds like at some point down the road they will eventually release it and when they do, audiences might be more interested and curious about seeing it due the controversy surrounding it. It’s like canceling the film under these circumstance might unintentionally help the films marketing in the long run.

The movie comes from writer Damon Lindelof (LOST, The Leftover, Watchmen) and director Craig Zobel (Z for Zachariah, The Leftovers) and it was produced by Blumhouse Pictures. Here’s the synopsis that was shared:

Twelve strangers wake up in a clearing. They don’t know where they are, or how they got there. They don’t know they’ve been chosen… for a very specific purpose … The Hunt. 

In the shadow of a dark internet conspiracy theory, a group of globalist elites gathers for the very first time at a remote Manor House to hunt humans for sport. But the elites’ master plan is about to be derailed because one of the hunted, Crystal (Betty Gilpin, GLOW), knows The Hunters’ game better than they do. She turns the tables on the killers, picking them off, one by one, as she makes her way toward the mysterious woman (two-time Oscar® winner Hilary Swank) at the center of it all.

The Hunt stars Ike Barinholtz, Emma Roberts, Justin Hartley, Glenn Howerton, Amy Madigan, Macon Blair, Steve Coulter, Ethan Suplee, and Hilary Swank.