This is Will Smith’s first movie since the famed Oscars slap

Will Smith’s first film since slapping Chris Rock at the Academy Awards, a historical thriller titled Emancipation, will premiere in December, making it eligible for next year’s Academy Awards.

Monday, October 3, the distributor Apple Inc. issued a statement announcing the release date and posted a teaser for the film. Emancipation, a film about a man who escapes slavery, was filmed before Smith assaulted Rock on stage in February, but its release date remained undetermined.

Smith is prohibited from attending the Oscars event for ten years, although he remains eligible for nomination and victory.

The actor has officially apologized to Chris Rock, the film academy, and the general public for hitting Chris Rock over a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith, Will Smith’s wife.

Less than an hour later, Smith received the award for best actor for his performance in King Richard as the father of tennis champions Venus and Serena Williams.

Apple said that Emancipation would play exclusively in cinemas for one week beginning on December 2 and will release on Apple TV+ on December 9.

The film was inspired by the true story of a man who became known as “Whipped Peter” when photographs of massive whipping scars on his back were published in 1863 in Harper’s Weekly.