The saga of the release date for the Monster Hunter movie has yet another twist, just days after controversy over some dialogue. While the film recently had its release date changed to Christmas Day, you’ll now be able to see it in theaters even earlier.
Sony’s Monster Hunter will hit theaters domestically on December 18, GameSpot has learned. It’s unknown at this time as to why the studio decided on the new release date. That leaves Tom Hanks’ News of the World, Regina King’s One Night In Miami, and the dark comedy Promising Young Woman as the movies premiering on December 25.
This move comes a day after Monster Hunter was pulled from theaters in China after a line of dialogue spoken by Jin Au-Yeung’s character caused an outrage. Also going by the name MC Jin, the actor explained the scene for himself in an Instagram post, which you can see below.
“I am absolutely devastated that a line from our movie, Monster Hunter, has offended some audience members in China,” director Paul W.S. Anderson said in a statement (via Deadline). “I apologize for any anxiety or upset that this line and its interpretation caused. Monster Hunter was 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.”
Monster Hunter follows Captain Artemis (Milla Jovovich) and her team as they are transported to an alien world, which is home to gigantic monsters. Together they will have to survive the experience in order to save their own world. The film hits theaters on December 18 in the United States.
