Apple to release new Will Smith movie in the middle of awards season

Will Smith, during the premiere of 'Gemini Man', in October 2019. Phil Mccarten (Phil Mccarten/Invision/AP)

Emancipation

has it all.

It is a movie set in the Civil War era about a slave who escapes north to regain his freedom.

But first, Peter, the main character, must survive the inhospitable wet climate of the Louisiana swamps in the days of the Confederacy.

It is based on a true story and was directed by Antoine Fuqua, director

and

.

The tape has only one problem.

It stars Will Smith, who stole the most recent night of the Oscars after taking a swing at comedian Chris Rock, a scandal that took the shine off one of Hollywood's most famous stars.

Apple has ended this Monday with weeks of rumors by confirming that the film will be released on December 2 in theaters, in full awards season.

Apple purchased the film in July 2020 on the Cannes film festival virtual marketplace.

The technology company participated in an intense bid against Warner Bros. to keep the rights of the superstar.

In the end, the company won the pulse of one of the most powerful studios in Hollywood without the amount it paid to keep the story written by William Collage having transpired until now.

One of the milestones of Oscar night that Smith overshadowed with his coup was the fact that Apple became the first streaming company to win best picture.

He did it with CODA, a small independent film that he bought for $25 million at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival.

The technological giant has launched this Monday the first trailer for

.

The images have put an end to the rumors of the industry, which was questioning what would be the fate of one of the most anticipated projects of the season.

Smith said this morning that it is the "most difficult film he has ever made."

"It literally took my blood, sweat and tears," wrote the actor on Instagram, who has gradually broken the silence he kept after the March 27 episode.

Emancipation

always had a 2022 release date.

Apple has confirmed that it will be available on Apple TV+ on December 9.

The Oscar night incident, however, caused several changes in productions that had Will Smith as an actor or producer.

Netflix paused

in April.

The film was going to be directed by David Leitch, the man behind the second installment of Deadpool and

universe

.

In July, Apple announced that it was moving one of its biggest awards season releases to next year,

, Martin Scorsese's adaptation of David Grann's book and starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

This meant that Apple, winner of this year's most coveted Oscar, had no competition for the upcoming awards season.

If critics give

a warm welcome , audiences could witness Smith's full rehabilitation.

All in less than a year.

The actor, who won the award for best actor the same night as his outburst, could repeat among the nominees for his performance as the slave Peter.

The punishment imposed by the academy prohibits him from entering any event organized by the institution in a decade.

But this does not prevent him from being nominated for an Oscar again and, of course, winning it if he gets the necessary votes.

A single photograph told the horrors that can now be seen in

.

In May 1863,

newspaper carried in its pages a picture of Peter's back, showing dozens of scars from the whipping he had received at the hands of his owners, John and Bridget Lyons, over the years.

, as the portrait became popularly known following its publication in the story in

, became a symbol of the mistreatment black people suffered on plantations in the American South.

More than a century later, the film may become the resurrection of Will Smith.