'The Hunt' Movie Director Talks Controversial Film's Future: What's Ahead?

On Aug. 10, Universal announced that they had decided to cancel the upcoming release of the thriller "The Hunt." The recent mass shootings and growing conservative backlash are said to have been two factors that determined the movie's ultimate fate. On Monday, Craig Zobel, the controversial film's director, finally broke his silence and revealed how he truly feels about what has transpired around the project.

Speaking to Variety in an email, Zobel shared that he didn't intend to "inflame political conflict" with his movie, as he believed it didn't take sides politically. "If I believed this film could incite violence, I wouldn't have made it," he stated.

Continuing, he said, "Our ambition was to poke fun at both sides of the aisle equally. We seek to entertain and unify, not enrage and divide. It is up to the viewers to decide what their takeaway will be."

Before the cancellation, conservatives called the film "a liberal fantasy." This belief and criticism even made its way up to President Trump, who tweeted that the movie's goal was "to inflame and cause chaos." His tweets can be seen below.

According to the outlet, the director also said that he believed his film had been "misunderstood" because "it was actually about partisanship and how both sides fail to fully hear their opponents' views." The script was written by Nick Cuse, a Harvard grad who is a registered Republican, and Damon Lindelof, a veteran TV producer and Democratic presidential candidate donor.

Jason Blum, the force behind both the project and Blumhouse Productions, told Vulture on Aug. 16 that he hopes the film is eventually released so audiences can judge it for themselves. When asked if he believed it was a real possibility, he said there is "definitely a chance," adding, "I hope so."

As Universal has not allowed critics to screen the film, it cannot be verified just how political the movie actually is. However, Variety said they did obtain an early draft where the movie's goal was seemingly to make working-class conservatives the heroes as they are "kidnapped and hunted by liberal elites."

Zobel concluded that he hoped the film would be a teachable moment and would spark the audience to contemplate the current state of political polarization.

"My hope would be that people will reflect on why we are in this moment, where we don't have any desire to listen to each other. And if I'm lucky some of us will ask each other: how did we get here? And where do we want to go moving forward?"