Straight from his Oscar win and…the notorious incident from that night, Will Smith is back in another dramatic turn. This time, Smith stars in a historical drama inspired by true events from director Antoine Fuqua. The new Civil War film is an Apple Original called Emancipation and finds Will as a slave who escapes his plantation to return to his family, and the new trailer debuts online.
The film synopsis per Deadline reads,
“The film follows Peter (Smith), a man who escapes from slavery, relying on his wits, unwavering faith, and deep love for his family to evade cold-blooded hunters and the unforgiving swamps of Louisiana on his quest for freedom. It is inspired by the 1863 photos of ‘Whipped Peter,’ taken during a Union Army medical examination, that first appeared in Harper’s Weekly. One image, known as ‘The Scourged Back,’ which shows Peter’s bare back mutilated by a whipping delivered by his enslavers, ultimately contributed to growing public opposition to slavery.”
This is a more intense role for Smith, who usually partakes in light, blockbuster movies. Although, he’s been known to take some serious roles with very dark themes, including ones that deal with suicide, in films like Seven Pounds and Collateral Beauty. He is also one to portray subjects of inspiration through hardship, which he showcased with his Academy Award-winning role in King Richard.
Ironically, Smith also turned down a freed slave role as the titular character in Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained, which, although similar on paper to this new role, would’ve been an interesting direction for him to take. Smith has admitted to turning down the project because the character he would’ve played does not kill the bad guy, as that honor had gone to the Christoph Waltz character.
Emancipation was bought at Cannes virtually in 2020 by Apple, beating out six other bidders. This film is the biggest festival requirement in history, with the final price tag coming to $120 million.
Emancipation hits theaters on December 12 and streams on AppleTV+ in the next week.