Universal Pictures announced today that they would be cancelling the release of the upcoming thriller The Hunt after “thoughtful consideration.”
The Hunt is a new take on the classic, The Most Dangerous Game, a short stry originally published in 1923. There have been many adaptations of the book on TV and film, with each one taking slught liberties and alterations to the source material. Staring Hilary Swank (Boys Don’t Cry) , Emma Roberts (American Horror Story) , Ike Barinholtz (The Mindy Project), Betty Gilpin, and Justin Harley (This Is Us) follows 12 strangers who rather in a remote lodge and gun down humans for sport.
“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,” the company said in a statement. “But we understand that now is not the right time to release this film.”
Marketing for The Hunt that started shortly before last weekends horrific shootings in Dayton, Ohio and El Paso, Texas, was pulled after the shootings following backlash and criticism.
This move from Universal comes following Walmart taking steps to remove violent media from it’s shelves. It is unclear if more horror and genre based movies will face a similar fate. We at CGMagazine will keep everyone apprised of any cancellations or delays of movies or games from this move of companies to distance themselves from violent subject matter.
