Following the horrific tragedy in Las Vegas last week, Hollywood has wisely decided to alter the release date of a film that touts a gun-wielding old white man as its protagonist. Eli Roth’s Death Wish remake was originally slated to arrive this November on Thanksgiving weekend, but has now been pushed back to a March 2, 2018 release date.
Ostensibly, MGM has said they’re pushing the film back to avoid a crowded Thanksgiving season, but considering Death Wish was competing against films like Molly’s Game and Coco, which obviously don’t share the same demographic Roth’s film is looking to draw in, and what the film is about, it’s easy to see the real reasons for the move.
This news follows the panel for Netflix’s The Punisher being cancelled at NYCC in the wake of the tragedy since it also follows a weapons-wielding protagonist looking to bring vigilante justice to the world.
These projects and various films and shows of a similar ilk will still get released of course, but, especially in regards to Death Wish, it’s fair to wonder if the reboot is a bit tone deaf in the current climate.
Before the trailer arrived there was hope that perhaps Roth would use his updated version of the 1974 Charles Bronson film as a commentary about gun violence in the contemporary world, before the trailer arrived and seemed to reveal that it was just your typical macho shoot-’em-up.
Hopefully that isn’t the case, trailers have misled us before, but MGM pushing back the release date implies that this isn’t the film that’s going to challenge the status quo in regards to gun control and contemporary crime.
#Peace.Love.DeathWish
