First the stop in August 2021 due to Covid after just two weeks from the start of filming, now the aftermath of the worldwide slap to Chris Rock during the 2022 Oscar ceremony. There is no peace for EmancipationApple’s slavery movie with Will Smith in the role of the protagonist. According to the rumors collected by variety.comthe Apple TV + exclusive could be postponed to the 2023.
The release of Emancipation did not have a release date, but in light of the very warm reception received at the Cannes Virtual Film Market when Warner Bros, MGM, Lionsgate and Universal, as well as Apple of course, challenged each other to the sound of millions to get the rights to the film, it was widely believed that the film would win theaters by 2022 to then land on Apple’s streaming platform.
Now the background landscape has changed and, writes Variety, citing an anonymous source, after some internal discussions between Apple executives and the director. the “first” in autumn is “highly unlikely”. The feeling is that among the various factors that could have determined the delay compared to the initial plans there is also what happened at the Oscars: if the image of the protagonist of Emancipation has weakened, Apple has a vested interest in delaying its debut so as to “cool” public opinion and protect the investment monstre from – it is said – 120 million dollars.
Emancipationdirected by Antoine Fuqua and based on the screenplay by William N. Collage, is a film inspired by the story of an African American slave (played by Will Smith) known as Gordon or Whipped Peter (Peter the frustrated), and portrayed from a famous, tragic, photograph called The Scourged Black in which the back lashed by whiplash is shown. In the film, Peter, who has escaped from a plantation with whiplash marks that nearly killed him on his back, embarks on a difficult journey north, where he joins the Union army.
