The film’s Facebook page and official tweets have quietly been deleted as of Saturday morning, days after Sony was pressured to cancel its theatrical release following violent threats from an anonymous group of hackers that the FBI now believes to be connected to North Korea.
The Interview’s Facebook page (see a cached version, below) had nearly 400,000 followers prior to being deleted. The Twitter account for the comedy, which stars Seth Rogen and James Franco, still exists; but its 1,800-plus tweets have been deleted.
Variety first reported that its accounts were scrubbed. Currently, it’s unclear whether Sony took this action deliberately, or if the deletions are due to another hacking incident. Sony did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Interview, about an about an assassination plot on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, was set to debut on Christmas Day.
“The Interview” is scarcely as funny or absurd as the average news item about North Korea itself, with two main characters who are so aggressively annoying that you secretly hope the assassination plot will turn against them.
Franco, who can be an inspired, inventive actor when he wants to be, plays Skylark as a smart person’s idea of a stupid person, and after a while his puppyish energy and incessant ear-to-ear grin become toxic to behold. Rogen, meanwhile, soldiers along as dutifully as he can, playing his sad-sack Sancho Panza routine to diminishing returns. Where oh where are Team America: World Police when we really need them?
However, Sony decided to cancel its release after a menacing message from anonymous hackers that referenced the September 11th terrorist attacks.
Hackers previously pressured Sony to delete all traces of The Interview on the web. “We want everything related to the movie, including its trailers, as well as its full version, down from any website hosting them immediately,” they said, according to CNN.
Some, including U.S. President Barack Obama, have since criticized Sony for pulling the film, and caving into the vague threats. Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton later fired back, saying the company has “not caved,” and “would still like the public to see” The Interview.
UPDATED 4:03 p.m. ET: Several other promotional accounts for The Interview have also been scrubbed or deleted, including its pages on YouTube, Tumblr and Instagram.