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When Is Emancipation Coming Out?
Who's In the Cast of Emancipation?
What Is Emancipation About?
Watch the Trailer for Emancipation
Will Emancipation Be in Theaters?
Will Emancipation Be Available on Streaming?
Antoine Fuqua’s Filmography
Academy Award-winner Will Smith (King Richard) will star in the upcoming historical thriller, Emancipation. The film is expected to be an Oscar contender, with Smith looking to get his second straight Best Actor nomination. Directed by Antoine Fuqua (The Guilty), Emancipation is based on a true story and sees Peter (Will Smith) fight for his freedom and his family’s. Emancipation is Smith’s first film since his Oscar win earlier this year and has already garnered praise. Here is everything you need to know about Emancipation.
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Editor's Note: This article was updated on November 18 to include the latest trailer.
Related:Will Smith Is Front and Center In New 'Emancipation' Poster
When Is Emancipation Coming Out?
The film has been screened for several groups, including the Congressional Black Caucus, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, National Council of Negro Women, the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, and Power Rising. The film will have a limited release in select theaters on December 2, 2022, before releasing on Apple TV+ a week later on December 9, 2022. This date puts the film in the midst of awards season.
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Who's In the Cast of Emancipation?
The upcoming film stars Will Smith as Peter, Ben Foster as Fassel, Steven Ogg as Sergeant Howard, Charmaine Bingwa as Dodienne, Gilbert Owuor as Gordon, Mustafa Shakir as Andre Cailloux, and Grant Harvey as Leeds.
What Is Emancipation About?
Emancipation is based on the true story of Peter (Smith), a slave who runs away from his plantation in search of his family. He travels across the Louisiana swamp while outsmarting cold-blooded hunters along the way. Peter later joins the Union Army, and during his medical examination, they see his bare back, which has scars from a near-fatal whipping. A photo of his back was published in The Independent under the name “the scourged back.” The image displayed the cruelty of slavery in The United States.
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Will Smith shared his thoughts on the film’s premise:
“Throughout my career, I’ve turned down many films that were, uh, set in slavery. I never wanted to show us like that, and then this picture came along, and this is not a film about slavery. This is a film about freedom. This is a film about resilience. You know this is a film about faith. It’s a film about the heart of a man, um, what could be called the first viral image.”
That image is the backbone of the entire story and resonates strongly with Smith. He added:
”This was a story that exploded and blossomed in my heart that I wanted to be able to deliver to you in a way that only [director] Antoine Fuqua could deliver.”
Watch the Trailer for Emancipation
We previously saw Smith in King Richard, the film showing us the life of Tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams' father, Richard. King Richard netted Smith his first Oscar win. Will his next movie yield similar results? If you haven’t seen the trailer for Emancipation, look no further! Here’s our first look at the upcoming film.
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Since then, the full trailer for Emancipation has also been released. This trailer shows Peter’s incredible journey as he fights for his freedom. The clip begins with Peter saying his goodbyes before he is forcibly taken away to another plantation, screaming that he will come back to them even as he is carted away. The video briefly goes over some of the terrible tortures that await Peter before he can fulfill that promise. Much like the teaser, the trailer promises a haunting yet artistically presented film that emulates the look of the original photographs. At the end of the trailer, we get a shot of Peter sitting with his back turned to the camera, revealing the scars on his back. The shot is clearly inspired by the photograph titled "The Scourged Back", one of the most famous Civil War-era photographs that helped contribute to the growing anti-slavery sentiment. Through the trailer, beaten but not broken, Peter stands and shows no weakness. You can watch the three-minute video below.
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Will Emancipation Be in Theaters?
Emancipation will be released in select theaters on December 2, 2022. As of now, it is unknown how many theaters the Will Smith film will play in, but since this is one of Apple's more high-profile films of the year, it may not be too hard to find. For a movie to qualify for the Academy Awards, the film will need a theatrical run for a minimum of seven days.
Will Emancipation Be Available on Streaming?
Yes! Emancipation will be available on Apple TV+ on December 2, 2022. The film is an Apple exclusive and will only be available on Apple’s streaming service. The rights were made available in an auction and nearly purchased by Warner Bros, MGM, Lionsgate, and Universal, but Apple was the highest bidder in the end beating out Warner Bros, which was the other finalist.
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Related:Martin Lawrence Confirms 'Bad Boys 4' Is Still Moving Forward With Will Smith Attached
Antoine Fuqua’s Filmography
If you are unfamiliar with director Antoine Fuqua’s work, he has been working in the industry for a long time now. Working with A-list stars like Denzel Washington (The Equalizer) and made sports documentaries about legends, such as his standout documentary, What’s My Name: Muhammad Ali. Here are five of the latest projects Fuqua directed before watching Emancipation.
Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers - The Los Angles Lakers are one of the most successful franchises, not just in the NBA, but in all major sports. Kareem Abdul-Jabar and Magic Johnson led The Lakers and ushered in Showtime, in a way that changed the game of basketball forever.
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Antoine Fuqua's latest sports documentary, Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers focuses on what it means to wear purple and gold, plus the weight future generations have to carry. The docu-series comes on the heels of the HBO series, Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty. The series received strong reviews but still garnered some criticism because it wasn’t an accurate portrayal of events.
The Equalizer Franchise - The Equalizer franchise sees Robert McCall (Denzel Washington), a retired U.S. Marine and former DIA agent use his skills against the mob and those looking to cause harm to people close to him.
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The films follow a similar trend as the John Wick or Taken films. An older actor portrays a weary vet who is put on the violent path of revenge. While The Equalizer franchise might not be the best in this genre, Fuqua and Washington still deliver two fun films that make for solid action movies.
Southpaw - Fuqua’s love for cinema and sports collide in this boxing drama, Southpaw. In this film, Jake Gyllenhaal plays Billy “The Great” Hope, a boxer who loses everything dear to him. The film is a story about perseverance and refusing to stay down.
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While the film does hit all the story beats and clichés you’ve come to expect from a sports film - Southpaw still manages to tell a compelling story thanks to Gyllenhaal’s heartfelt performance and Fuqua’s direction.
The Guilty - Antoine Fuqua and Jake Gyllenhaal reunite in the Netflix film, The Guilty. The movie focuses on a troubled police detective named Joe Baylor (Gyllenhaal), who is assigned to operator duty on the 911 phone line. He must try to save a distressed caller during a challenging situation.
The Guilty is a slow burn, but it doesn’t mean the film lacks tension. The film builds that tension in a way that makes it worth the watch, and it’s only bolstered even more by Gyllenhaal’s stellar performance.
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