Originally set for release in late September, Blumhouse’s The Hunt was unexpectedly pulled from release by Universal Pictures just about one week ago, leaving the film’s fate hanging in the balance. Universal had initially paused the marketing campaign in light of recent mass shootings and political turmoil, but they ultimately cancelled it entirely just days later.
Universal said in a statement, “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.”
In The Hunt, “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.”
Speaking with Vulture in an interview published over the weekend, producer Jason Blum finally offered his thoughts on the cancellation of the controversial film’s release.
“I learned a lot of lessons,” Blum told the site. “If I was offered the choice to make the movie again, I would say yes. We definitely made marketing mistakes, and we made plenty of mistakes along the way. So I’ve learned a lot. It might change how I would position movies and how I would consult on the marketing of the movies. But actually the making of the movies? No.”
Blum added that there’s “definitely a chance” the film will eventually be released in the future.
Director Craig Zobel (Z for Zachariah) also spoke abut the cancellation in an interview with Variety. He told the site this week that the film’s storyline has been wildly misrepresented.
“If I believed this film could incite violence, I wouldn’t have made it,” said Zobel.
The filmmaker continued, “Our ambition was to poke at both sides of the aisle equally. We seek to entertain and unify, not enrage and divide. It is up to the viewers to decide what their takeaway will be. I wanted to make a fun, action thriller that satirized this moment in our culture — where we jump to assume we know someone’s beliefs because of which ‘team’ we think they’re on… and then start shouting at them. This rush to judgment is one of the most relevant problems of our time.”
“I was devastated by going to sleep to El Paso and waking up to Dayton. These types of moments happen far too often. In the wake of these horrific events, we immediately considered what it meant for the timing of our film. Once inaccurate assumptions about the content and intent of the movie began to take hold, I supported the decision to move the film off its release date.”
At this time, there are no current plans for The Hunt to be released.
