Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Entertainment
  3. News

Will Smith races to freedom in Apple TV+’s Emancipation trailer

By

For the better part of three decades, Will Smith has been one of the biggest box office draws in Hollywood. But at the moment, everything in his career is overshadowed by the fact that he slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars earlier this year. The incident has hung over Smith’s head for months, but stars have weathered PR disasters before, and Hollywood loves a comeback story. Apple TV+’s new film Emancipation may be the start of that comeback for Smith, if the first trailer for the film is any indication of what’s to come.

Emancipation — Official Teaser | Apple TV+

Emancipation is based upon a true story, and it features Smith as an African man named Peter who endures the cruel nature of slavery. Peter knows that he is meant to be free, and he knows that Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation can deliver him from this evil if he can only escape his shackles. Once Peter can get loose from his chains, the only thing standing between him and freedom is a treacherous swamp. And at Peter’s back are cruel bounty hunters who will do anything to return him to bondage.

Will Smith in Emancipation
Image used with permission by copyright holder

In the trailer, Peter is driven by more than just a desire to be free. He also wants to see his enemies defeated. That’s why he’s looking for the Union Army with a desire to join their ranks. Peter’s journey to the North is fraught with danger, but he will never back down to the men who forced him into slavery.

Recommended Videos

Ben Foster also stars in the film as Fassel, with Steven Ogg as Sergeant Howard, Charmaine Bingwa as Dodienne, Gilbert Owuor as Gordon, Mustafa Shakir as Andre Cailloux, Grant Harvey as Leeds, Ronnie Gene Blevins as Harrington, Jayson Warner Smith as Captain John Lyons, Jabbar Lewis as Tomas, Michael Luwoye as John, Aaron Moten as Knowls, and Imani Pullum as Betsy.

Related

Antoine Fuqua directed the movie from a script by William N. Collage. Emancipation will have a limited theatrical release on December 2 before coming to Apple TV+ on December 9.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Blair Marnell
Blair Marnell
Blair Marnell has been an entertainment journalist for over 15 years. His bylines have appeared in Wizard Magazine, Geek…
Spielberg and Hanks revisit World War II in Masters of the Air’s first trailer
Austin Butler stands next to a plane in Masters of the Air.

Over two decades ago, Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks executive produced the prestige World War II miniseries, Band of Brothers, before reteaming in 2010 on The Pacific, both for HBO. However, Spielberg and Hanks have chosen a new home for their next WWII epic: Masters of the Air. This time, the focus will be on the war in the sky as the 100th Bomb Group takes the battle to the doorsteps of the Nazis. But these are incredibly dangerous missions, and not everyone will make it back home.

Masters of the Air — Official Teaser | Apple TV+

Read more
Watch NASA’s trailer teasing next week’s launch of streaming service
NASA's next-generation SLS rocket.

NASA has shared a trailer highlighting next week’s launch of NASA+, a free video streaming service.

“We launch more than rockets,” NASA said in a post about the new offering, adding: “No subscription required. No ads. No cost. Family friendly! Emmy-winning live shows. Original series. On most major platforms.”

Read more
What is Apple TV+? Pricing, features, how to get it, and more
The Apple TV+ home screen with an image from Invasion.

Since its launch in November of 2019, Apple TV+ has elbowed its way on to the playing field of streaming services from Netflix and Amazon Prime Video to Disney+, Max, Hulu, and a plethora of others to become, for many, a go-to option for movies, TV series, and sports. Since then the ad-free service has amassed an estimated 25 million subscribers globally, with many more than that reportedly cashing in on the company's penchant for free promotional subscriptions after you buy a new Apple device like an iPhone or MacBook.

What sets Apple TV+ apart from the rest of the herd is that it's the only service that offers exclusively original content and only its own original content; meaning no seasons of Rick and Morty or Friends licensed from their respective networks and no blockbuster flicks from other studios, but you can get those elsewhere. This may or may not be a bad thing, as so far Apple has done a pretty good job at making some of the most compelling original content out there, including award-winning series such as Ted Lasso, The Morning Show, and Severance to some of the best sci-fi series around, like Silo and Invasion, as well as live sports from Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer.

Read more