Last month, Sony announced that it was moving Monster Hunter to Christmas Day, pitting the video game adaptation against Wonder Woman 1984. But it looks like Milla Jovovich won’t be battling Gal Gadot for box office (or streaming) glory after all. According to Forbes, Sony will instead release Monster Hunter one week earlier on December 18.
Like many other films, Monster Hunter has faced a number of release date changes since the coronavirus pandemic began. Sony was originally planning to debut the film in September before pushing it all the way back to April 2021. However, it wasn’t long before the studio moved it back to 2020, first to December 30 and then to December 25.
This latest shuffle comes a few days after the movie premiered in China and found itself in hot water over a bad joke made by Jin Au-Yeung. At one point in the film, Au-Yeung’s character asks, “Look at my knees! What kind of knees are these? Chi-knees!” Apparently, the international translation led some viewers to think that the joke was referencing a racist schoolyard rhyme that disparages the Asian community as a whole. That got the film pulled from Chinese theaters, and it may not get another chance there.
RELATED: Sony Moves Up Monster Hunter To Christmas Day
In response to the backlash, Anderson issued an apology for the joke via Deadline. Au-Yeung, better known for his musical output as MC Jin, also addressed the incident on social media. You can hear what he had to say via Instagram below. Following the controversy, Sony is removing the joke from all versions of Monster Hunter.
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What are your thoughts on Monster Hunter’s latest release date change? Let us know in the comment section below!
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