After being pulled from its September 2019 release in the wake of mass shootings in Dayton, OH and El Paso, TX, The Hunt will now arrive in cinemas on March 13.
The film attracted attention for its subject matter, which sees a group of “elites” kidnapping and hunting “deplorables.” Hilary Swank plays the leader of the upper class individuals who aim to exterminate a group who express conservative views.
Talking to the The Hollywood Reporter, producer Jason Blum defended the overtly political nature of The Hunt, saying, “None of us were interested in taking sides with this movie.” He and screenwriter Damon Lindelof maintain that the film satirizes both sides in equal proportions, though the deaths in the movie can be quite gruesome, reportedly occurring in the following ways: “shot with a bullet to the head or a bow and arrow, impaled on metal spikes, pulverized with a grenade in the pants, poisoned and … done in with a stiletto heel plunged into an eyeball.”
To mark the announcement of the new release date, Universal released a trailer that plays on the controversy surrounding the film. The new tagline that the company is using is, “The most talked about movie of the year is the one nobody has seen … yet.”
The film is directed by Craig Zobel (Z for Zachariah), with the script being handled by Lindelof and Nick Cuse, following their collaboration on last year’s HBO adaptation of Watchmen.
Alongside Swank, Emma Roberts and GLOW star Betty Gilpin also star in leading roles.
