Jason Blum on The Hunt’s Potential Release, Marketing Mistakes

Following the controversy surrounding The Hunt, Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Productions decided to cancel the scheduled release of the R-rated horror film. Now, Blumhouse’s Jason Blum has opened up on what marketing lessons he learned as a producer on The Hunt, along with chances the horror film will be released in the future.

“I learned a lot of lessons. Wouldn’t alter my … If I was offered the choice to make the movie again, I would say yes,” Blum told Vulture. “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.”

RELATED: The Hunt’s Cancellation Is a Chilling Move Toward Government Censorship

When asked if there is any chance The Hunt is released in the future, Blum replied, “Definitely a chance. I hope so.”

There were reports that test audiences were uncomfortable with the politics of the film. Although the studio was not yet ready to pull the film, three mass shootings in a short period of time changed that. Universal executives and the team behind The Hunt started receiving death threats. By the time the movie was pulled, even Blumhouse Productions founder Jason Blum was onboard to shelve the project.

“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,” a source for the studio said.

RELATED: Universal Cancels The Hunt’s Release Following Mass Shootings

The synopsis for The Hunt can be found below:

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.

Written by Damon Lindeloff and Nick Cuse and directed by Craig Zobel, The Hunt stars Emma Roberts, Justin Hartley, Genn Howerton, Ike Barinholtz, Betty Gilpin, Amy Madigan, Hilary Swank and Ethan Suplee.

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