Universal has scrapped the release of ‘The Hunt,’ a dark satire that depicts liberal elites hunting down middle-American “deplorables” for sport. The decision comes after three mass shootings and criticism from President Trump.

Originally scheduled for release at the end of September, ‘The Hunt’ depicted a hellish world in which rich liberals capture and hunt ordinary, decent, Donald Trump-voting “deplorables” for fun. In the movie, a band of captives arm themselves and take the fight back to their blue-state tormentors.

However, Universal ran into trouble when three mass shootings in Texas, Ohio, and California left 36 dead in the space of a week, days after the release of the movie’s trigger-happy trailer. After pulling some TV and internet ads, the studio finally scrapped the release of ‘The Hunt’ entirely on Saturday, stating “now is not the right time to release this film.”

The movie was also seemingly criticized by Trump on Friday. Though he did not name it directly, Trump tweeted that “the movie coming out is made in order to inflame and cause chaos. They create their own violence, and then try to blame others. They are the true Racists, and are very bad for our Country!,” after a rant accusing Hollywood at large of racism.

....to inflame and cause chaos. They create their own violence, and then try to blame others. They are the true Racists, and are very bad for our Country! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 9, 2019

Some of the MAGA crowd were outraged at the premise of the movie. “Leftists are making movies about killing you and want to disarm you,”tweeted conservative talk show host John Cardillo. A pro-Trump student group described the R-rated thriller as “beyond sick.”

This is crazy. So Hollywood protested against hate, guns & violence but makes a hateful movie stalking & killing "Deplorables" with guns. Titled "The Hunt" as if they were hunting down & killing animals.Liberal Democrats are revealing who they are. "HATE"https://t.co/smJ6rS68w8 — Diamond and Silk® (@DiamondandSilk) August 9, 2019

Amid the storm of indignation, most of the movie’s conservative detractors seem to have missed the message that in ‘The Hunt,’ the deplorables are the heroes. From the trailer at least, the movie tells the story of a band of regular folk taking revenge on a cruel, uncaring elite that wants them dead.

Not sure why people are worked up about "The Hunt." The deplorables are the good guys, while the liberal elites are the bad guys. If anything, the film has a populist message — Scott Greer (@ScottMGreer) August 8, 2019

Universal gave no indication of whether it plans to release the movie at some point in the future.

Like this story? Share it with a friend!