A gesture that will have earned him ten years of exclusion from the Oscars ceremony, and much more.
More than a month after he slapped Chris Rock at the 94th Academy Awards, the aftermath continues to cloud Will Smith's career.
Many of the 53-year-old actor's projects are in jeopardy, such as his new production,
Emancipation,
which was scheduled for release at the end of the year on Apple TV+.
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Variety
indeed reveals that the highly anticipated film should finally be released in 2023, depriving the actor of any claim to a nomination for the precious statuette
.
In this feature film, Will Smith plays Peter, a slave on a Louisiana plantation, who decides to flee north and join the Union Army after being savagely beaten.
Succession of delays on the set
The slap given by Will Smith to Chris Rock following a joke by the comedian on the shaved head of Jada Pinkett Smith, wife of the actor, does not seem to be the only reason for the changes in the film's schedule.
Indeed, director Antoine Fuqua is currently in full post-production after filming accumulated delays linked to Hurricane Ida in the southern United States and cases of Covid in the team.
Another reason put forward by
Variety
: the very long list of films scheduled for release on Apple TV + at the end of the year.
Even though he has apologized and resigned from the Academy, the actor's other projects may be in jeopardy.
The development of
Bad Boys 4
is at a standstill, as is the action film
Fast and Loose
that David Leitch was to direct for Netflix.
The streaming giant has also canceled
Bright 2
(although the platform clarified its decision was unrelated to
the 'incident'
involving the actor) while his return to
I Am Legend 2
remains unclear.