Carrey plays a character called Colonel Stars and Stripes in the sequel to the 2010 superhero comedy. However, the Dumb & Dumber star announced yesterday that his opinion of the film’s violent content has changed in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook massacre, which occurred a month after principal photography wrapped on Kick-Ass 2:

I did Kickass a month b4 Sandy Hook and now in all good conscience I cannot support that level of violence. My apologies to e

— Jim Carrey (@JimCarrey) June 23, 2013

I meant to say my apologies to others involve with the film. I am not ashamed of it but recent events have caused a change in my heart.

— Jim Carrey (@JimCarrey) June 23, 2013

Mark Millar, creator of the Kick-Ass comic books, responded to Carrey’s criticisms in a forum post, writing “as you may know, Jim is a passionate advocate of gun-control and I respect both his politics and his opinion, but I'm baffled by this sudden announcement as nothing seen in this picture wasn't in the screenplay eighteen months ago.

"Yes, the body-count is very high, but a movie called Kick-Ass 2 really has to do what it says on the tin. A sequel to the picture that gave us HIT-GIRL was always going to have some blood on the floor and this should have been no shock to a guy who enjoyed the first movie so much”.

Carrey has previously spoken in favour of stricter gun control laws for the US. He has also starred in a musical comedy sketch that mocks the late Charlton Heston’s ‘from my cold dead hands’ NRA speech:

The first film in the series also attracted criticism for its content, particularly the portrayal of the foul-mouthed, violent pre-teen Hit Girl (played by Chloë Grace Moretz). However, the film was ultimately a critical and box office success. Moretz and other returning cast members Aaron Johnson and Christopher Mintz-Plasse will star alongside Carrey in the sequel, due out in August.