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The release date for Will Smith’s upcoming project with Apple, “Emancipation,” is in flux.
The movie’s release has reportedly been delayed to 2023, according to Variety. Although “Emancipation” didn’t have an exact release date, the film was expected to be shown at the fall film festivals later this year, the outlet reported.
There still hasn’t been an official release date provided by Apple, but a source told Variety that the release delay is “the unspoken truth.”
Will Smith, 2022 Oscars (Getty)
“Emancipation” would have been Smith’s first project released since he won best actor for “King Richard” at the 2022 Oscars. His win was overshadowed by his violent outburst on Chris Rock.
Despite multiple projects reportedly put on pause, Candle Media has chosen to continue to work with Smith and his production company, Westbrook Studios.
“It’s a great company. They have great projects. They’re very multi-faceted. They have a film and TV production. They have social media stories like Red Table Talk. … They have a big social media branding operation. So it’s a very good company. We have a 10% stake. That’s where we are for now. We think they’re a really great company,” CEO Kevin Mayer said at the MipTV conference in Cannes, according to Variety.
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Will Smith attends the Global Press Conference in support of “Gemini Man” at the YouTube Space LA Oct. 4, 2019, in Los Angeles. (Rachel Murray/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures)
Smith stormed the stage while Rock was presenting an award after Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s bald head. The actress suffers from alopecia, which she has been outspoken about in the past.
The “Hancock” star was allowed to accept his Oscar on stage less than an hour later. The next day, he apologized to Rock and the academy via Instagram. Smith later resigned from the academy.
Despite his resignation, the academy decided to ban Smith from attending the Oscars and other events for the next ten years.
Smith seemingly has begun to work on moving on from the incident and recently traveled to India to focus on yoga and meditation. The trip came as reports surfaced that the actor had not “personally apologized” to Rock.
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Will Smith attends a “Bad Boys For Life” photo call at Villa Magna hotel Jan. 8, 2020, in Madrid. (Pablo Cuadra/WireImage)
“Will’s ‘spiritual journey’ to India for yoga and meditation seems cynical and ridiculous given that he hasn’t apologized personally to the one person he assaulted in front of millions,” a Hollywood insider told Page Six.
“No amount of Namastes will make up for that,” the source added.
