The Last Witch Hunter

Lore & Background

The film premiered at the AMC Loews Lincoln Square in New York City on October 13, 2015, and was released in the United States on October 23, by Summit Entertainment, being the last film distributed by the company before it was absorbed into Lionsgate. The story follows Kaulder, an immortal witch-hunter cursed with eternal life by the Witch Queen eight hundred years ago. In the present day, Kaulder works for the Axe and Cross, an organization that maintains a truce between humans and witches. When the 36th Dolan is placed under a dark magic spell, Kaulder teams up with the 37th Dolan and a witch named Chloe to stop a plot to revive the Witch Queen.

Reader's Guide

The Last Witch Hunter received generally negative reviews from critics, with a 17% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a score of 34 out of 100 on Metacritic. Despite this, it grossed $146.9 million worldwide against a $90 million budget. The film's significance lies in its origin as an adaptation of Vin Diesel's personal Dungeons & Dragons campaigns, a rare instance of a major studio film directly based on a player's role-playing character. A sequel was announced as in development in June 2015, though the poor box office showing and Diesel's busy schedule cast doubt on its production. The film also marked the final release by Summit Entertainment before its absorption into Lionsgate.

Did You Know?

• The film is based on Vin Diesel's own Dungeons & Dragons campaigns as 'Melkor the Witch-Hunter'.
• Principal photography was initially delayed due to the death of Paul Walker, which delayed filming for Furious 7.
• R&B singer Ciara covered 'Paint It Black' by the Rolling Stones for the film.
• The film was the last distributed by Summit Entertainment before it was absorbed into Lionsgate.