The world has seen its fair share of mind-boggling events since the advent of Hollywood and its megastars. There have been many spectacular highs and equally notorious falls, and one such event came in March 2022 when Will Smith walked to the stage of the Oscars and slapped presenter Chris Rock. Rock had made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, to which Smith had taken exception. The megastar goes on to win an Oscar for his role on King Richard, but as expected, a storm ensued soon after, and despite it being months since the incident, Smith is feeling apprehension as his next film, Emancipation nears a release.
In the aftermath of the slap, Smith apologized to Rock for his actions. But that came after he had to resign from the Academy and take on a 10-year ban – dashing any hope of another award next year. The actor saw a number of projects tied to his name either shelved or suspended indefinitely. One of the few that did navigate the troubled waters is the Apple TV+ drama, Emancipation. It tells the story of an enslaved man, Peter, who escapes slavery and seeks reunification with his family while being hunted down. The film, inspired by the infamous 1863 photos of "Whipped Peter," is highly anticipated, but Smith is worried his previous actions might affect the film’s success.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, the actor said:
"The only discomfort my heart has around that is that so many people have done spectacular work on this film. My hope is that my team isn't penalized at all for my actions. I think [director Antoine Fuqua] and [cinematographer Robert Richardson] and Ben and Charmaine — everyone has done such spectacular work. I definitely lose a couple winks of sleep every night thinking that I could have potentially penalized my team, but I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that everyone gets seen in the light that they deserve."
While he might be worried about the film’s success, Smith has revealed that the screenplay was "one of the greatest reads" he's received as an actor. Speaking about the film and the story behind it, Smith says, "I had seen the image of Whipped Peter as a child, but as his story started to come into focus, I was moved in all of the most beautiful ways.” He goes on to add, "When you look at the brutality that he suffered, and then realizing that through that he was able to sustain faith, gratitude, and love in the face of those kinds of atrocities — I knew that I wanted to learn from Peter."
Emancipation is directed by Antoine Fuqua from a script written by William N. Collage. It is produced by Smith, Jon Mone, Joey McFarland, and Todd Black. Fuqua, Chris Brigham, James Lassiter, Heather Washington, Cliff Roberts, Glen Basner, and Scott Greenberg are executive producing the film.Besides Smith, the film also stars Ben Foster, Charmaine Bingwa, Gilbert Owuor, Mustafa Shakir, Steven Ogg, Grant Harvey, Ronnie Gene Bivens, Jayson Warner Smith, Jabbar Lewis, Michael Luwoye, Aaron Moten, and Imani Pullum.
Emancipation will premiere in select theaters on December 2, 2022, and will become available globally on Apple TV+ on Friday, December 9, 2022.