NBC Universal Is Not Canceling Movie Where Liberals Hunt Deplorables

After facing online backlash from conservatives, NBC Universal told FOX News that they have no plans to drop Blumhouse’s The Hunt from the company’s release schedule, or to change its release date. The film, which centers on a group of right-wingers who wake up to discover that they are being hunted for sport by wealthy liberals, has drawn criticism for a divisive and violent premise. In-story, “The Hunt” is apparently the manifestation of a conspiracy theory circulated on conservative talk radio. The film had already released its trailer to little fanfare, but earlier this week, The Hunt made news when some networks declined to run TV spots, citing gun violence in the trailer being inappropriate following the recent mass shootings in Texas and Ohio.

The Hunt feels like an idea bred to feed off of exactly this kind of controversy, with some of the “bad press” serving as free publicity for the movie. It would be interesting to see how many people, both those who are angry and those who plan to see the film, first learned about it during the last week, as ads being pulled and online protests gave The Hunt tons of free attention. According to an early report, The Hunt “follows a dozen MAGA types who wake up in a clearing and realize they are being stalked for sport by elite liberals.” The victims were apparently hand-chosen for political reasons, and contemporary language like “deplorables” is apparently used in-story.

Critics of The Hunt largely see it as anti-conservative, which is not an entirely unfair assumption. Blumhouse chief Jason Blum has been critical of Trump in the past, with his film The First Purge using a red had reminiscent of the ones Trump supporters wear on its poster. That movie depicted the United States on the brink of tipping from its current state into a status quo where The Purge — a 12-hour period every year during which time all crime is legal — seemed like a valid option.

The fact that the marketing materials make it seem like the “liberal elite” are the villains and the victims are the film’s heroes likely means that once the film has been seen, at least some of the anger over the depiction of everyday conservative people will blow the other way, with people on the other side of the political divide realizing that they are filling in for the movie’s villains.

Changing films, or altering release dates, to accommodate for the current political climate is nothing new. Numerous films were either delayed, or had their theatrical runs cut short in 2001 following the September 11 terror attacks, including Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Collateral Damage and the Dave Barry adaptation Big Trouble. Just last year, Blumhouse moved the release of Happy Death Day 2 U after receiving negative feedback from the father of a Parkland shooting victim when the film fell on the anniversary of that mass shooting. Also last year, the film Assassination Nation — with a premise not too dissimilar to that of The Hunt — was a dud at the box office, earning only $2 million in theaters and failing to secure an international release. The film was inexpensive to make, but it still cost $10 million to get the distribution rights after it was a big hit at Sundance.

The Hunt stars Betty Gilpin, Hilary Swank, Emma Roberts, Justin Hartley, and Sturgill Simpson, among others. The film is directed by Craig Zobel, who has done episodes of Outcast, American Gods, and Westworld. It is set for a September 27 release.