Will Smith’s Emancipation has reportedly been postponed for a 2023 release.
Following Will Smith’s Oscars win for King Richard, one of his biggest upcoming projects was touted to be AppleTV+’s Emancipation. The film which was being considered to be the platform’s next big project after CODA that won the Best Picture honour at Oscars 2022 has now been delayed and will be released in 2023 as reported by Variety.
The film starring Will Smith in lead has reportedly faced a delay in the wake of the actor’s recent incident at the Academy Awards where he had an altercation with Chris Rock during which the actor slapped the comedian on stage. Directed by Antoine Fuqua, the movie would have been the first release for Smith following his assault on comedian Chris Rock although it has now been revealed that it will not be releasing this year.
As reported by Variety, the decision to shift the film’s release date from 2022 to next year may be due to the aftermath of the Oscars incident considering the film’s release could mean that the slapping incident will be the dominating topic during the film’s promotion. Although it has also been reported that another reason for the film’s delay may be because Fuqua is still in post-production and the film may not be ready by 2022.
It has also been reported that the streaming platform has a rather packed schedule for the 2022 year ending and hence adding Emancipation to it would not have been suitable. The studio is yet to confirm a release date for the upcoming project.
Source:pinkvilla.com