After months of career limbo, it appears that Will Smith is finally set to return with a new film. Emancipation, distributed by Apple TV Plus, is moving forward and has received its first trailer and official release date.
Emancipation has been highly anticipated for quite some time. It was initially expected to release this year, but after the incident involving Smith at the Oscars in March, there were serious questions about the movie's fate. Some even feared at the time that Apple might cancel the project altogether. Now that things have quieted down, however, Apple TV Plus has announced that the film will in fact be released this year.
In the new Emancipation trailer, viewers see Smith as Peter, a slave during the Civil War in the 1860s. After being whipped almost to the point of death, he plots his escape from slavery, fleeing through the difficult marshes of Louisiana. He is seen running through the woods while dogs and men on horseback chase him, saying in voice-over, “I will not be afraid. What can a mere man do to me?” His ultimate goal is to reach the Union Army and join up to fight in the war. Black and white images of the Louisiana forests, the swamps, and Civil War battles fill the trailer, with absolutely stunning cinematography by Robert Richardson (Kill Bill: Vol. 1, Inglorious Basterds, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood).
Emancipation is based on the true story of Gordon, an escaped slave who became the subject of one of the most famous and important photographs of the 19th century. Gordon escaped from a slave plantation in 1863 by using a series of clever tricks to mask his scent from pursuing bloodhounds. After ten days, he finally reached the Union Army and enlisted to fight in the Civil War. Historians now believe that the man in the famous photograph and the man who fled slavery and joined the Union Army may have been two separate people, Gordon and Peter. It's not clear how Emancipation will handle the story, but there are two separate characters confirmed on the cast list: Peter (Smith) and Gordon (Gilbert Owuor).
Emancipation is directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, Southpaw) and will be distributed by Apple TV Plus. The film is expected to perform well at the Academy Awards, and the streaming platform is undoubtedly releasing it this year to capitalize on hype and in the hopes of an Oscar. Apple TV Plus won the Best Picture Oscar last year for CODA, becoming the first streamer to do so.
Smith is also undoubtedly hoping for some major awards recognition to wash away the months of bad press he's been getting and recover some of his positive name recognition. If he manages to win awards, however, he won't be able to accept them at the ceremony. Back in April, the Academy banned Smith from the Oscars for ten years.
Emancipation will release theatrically on December 2 and on Apple TV Plus on December 9, 2022.
Source: Apple TV+/YouTube