'The Hunt' May Still Get Released Sometime In The Future Despite Controversy

Earlier this month, Universal's decided to indefinitely shelve the The Hunt in lieu of a string of tragic mass shootings and political controversy stirred up by Fox News and Donald Trump. The decision was treated with some derision among critics who argued that the polarizing logline for the satirical action thriller, which follows a group of elite liberals who are hunting down a group of people from conservative red states referred to as "deplorables," shouldn't be the sole reason that the movie was scrapped. But The Hunt may have a future in theaters if producer Jason Blum has anything to say about it. The Blumhouse Productions CEO revealed that he thinks a release for The Hunt could happen at some point in the future.

When asked in an interview with Vulture, if there was a possibility the film could be released in the future, Blum responded that there was "definitely a chance. I hope so."

"I learned a lot of lessons," Blum, who produced The Hunt through his Blumhouse Productions, added. "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."

The film, which was originally set to be released in theaters on September 27, 2019, follows a group of strangers who find themselves hunted by "elites" that have targeted them in a twisted cross-country hunting game. While The Hunt positions the group of strangers, who all come from conservative red states, as the protagonists, the film's premise caught the eye of Fox News, which condemned it for showing conservative "deplorables" being hunted down. Soon avid Fox News watcher Donald Trump angrily tweeted about it, and the pot was stirred. The controversy boiled up in the aftermath of the deadly mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio, which didn't help matters.

Here is the official synopsis for the film:

"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 bunch of 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."

Though Blum expresses hope for the film's release, Universal did not indicate when or if they plan to distribute the film in the future.