A day after the film was slammed by President Donald Trump as “made to inflame and cause chaos”, Universal Pictures has announced that it has shelved the release of the Blumhouse Pictures thriller The Hunt.
The film, directed by Craig Zobel from a script by Damon Lindelof and Nick Cuse, stars Betty Gilpin (GLOW) as a woman who finds herself targeted by a group of global elites who hunt “deplorables” for sport. Also featuring in the cast are Hilary Swank, Emma Roberts, Justin Hartley, Ike Barinholtz, and Glenn Howerton.
The Hunt had already been the subject of controversy following the recent mass shootings in the U.S., which had prompted the studio to pull advertising for the movie and reassess its marketing strategy.
“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,” reads the official statement from Universal. “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.”
A source at Universal goes on to tell h that: “This was a decision that the studio came to with The Hunt filmmaking team, but ultimately it was about making the right decision, right now. It was a tough call for the company, but studio leadership, led by Donna Langley, all agreed that this film could wait.”
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.
