‘Monster Hunter’ Gets A New Release Date, A New Clip, And An Apology From Director Paul W.S. Anderson
Paul W.S. Anderson’sMonster Hunterhas gotten a lot of attention in the last few days – and not the good kind. The action film opened in China last weekend and ended up being pulled from theaters due to backlash over a racist joke. Now, Anderson and co-starJin Au-Yeung– who says the joke in the film – have issued an apology. Meanwhile, plans for the movie’s domestic release have changed – instead of opening in theaters on Christmas Day as previously announced,Monster Hunterwill now arrive earlier, on December 18. And just in case you’re not sick ofMonster Hunterat this point, there’s a new clip, too.Monster Hunteropened in China over the weekend,and things didn’t go so well. The film features a joke in which a character played byJin Au-Yeung, aka Asian-American rapperMC Jin, says: “Look at my knees! What kind of knees are these? Chi-knees!” It’s a tasteless, dumb joke, but, according toVariety, the line was made even worse due to the way it was translated:
As a result, the movie was pulled from Chinese theaters. Now, director Paul W.S. Anderson and actor Jin Au-Yeung have both issued apologies. Per Deadline, Anderson said:
“I am absolutely devastated that a line from our movie,Monster Hunter, has offended some audience members in China. I apologize for any anxiety or upset that this line and its interpretation caused.Monster Hunterwas made as fun entertainment and I am mortified that anything within it has caused unintentional offense. We have respectfully removed the line from the movie. It was never our intention to send a message of discrimination or disrespect to anyone. To the contrary — at its heart our movie is about unity.”
While Jin added (viaInstagram video):
“I felt a need to address this situation because what is at stake is not my career but something even more dear to my heart — my roots. I’ve spent the last 20 years using my platform to embrace and be a positive voice for my community. I am and will always be proud of my heritage.”
Meanwhile, here in America, Sony has changed the release date forMonster Hunteryet again. The movie was originally slated to open in September of 2020, but that changed due to the coronavirus. The next release date announced was in April 2021, but then, oddly enough, the film moved back to 2020. June 22, 2025, to be exact. It moved one more time – to Christmas Day. And now Sony has announced thatMonster Hunterwill open in theaters and IMAX on June 02, 2025. Whether or not people want to take a risk and go see it in the few theaters that are currently open is another story. For now, you may check out a newMonster Hunterclip below.
