Will Smith’s next movie will get a release date after the Oscars.

NEW YORK – After holding “Emancipation” in limbo is the following Will Smith hit Chris Rock at the Academy Awards in March, Apple will release the actor’s next big project this December.

As a result of Smith’s commitment to the comedian, the fate of “Emancipation,” the $120 million fugitive slave thriller from director Antoine Fuqua, was uncertain. The film, one of Apple’s most high-profile films, was expected to be an Oscar contender this year. But during awards season, the film headlined by Smith, who was nominated by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences banned from attending “Oscar” for 10 years, has obvious complications.

However, Apple TV+ said Monday that it will debut “Emancipation” in theaters on Dec. 2 and begin streaming on Dec. 9.

This past weekend, Apple and the NAACP hosted the first screening of the film in Washington as part of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s legislative conference. Smith attended the screening and performed on stage.

The release of Emancipation will be the biggest test yet of how eager moviegoers are for the film, which will be headlined by Smith, an actor who has grossed more than $6.5 billion at the global box office. However, a short exclusive theatrical release will also mean Emancipation, for example. In the nomination “CODA” for the best picture of Apple will be seen primarily in houses.

Despite this, the streamer does not shy away from his star. A black-and-white profile of Smith’s face with a chain around his neck graces the film’s poster.

In the film, Smith plays a man named Peter who escapes from slavery in Louisiana. It was inspired by the 1863 photographs of a man known as “Whipped Peter” that first appeared in Harper’s Weekly and show a medical examination of a mutilated man by the Union Army. The film was originally planned to be shot in Georgia Fuqua and Smith moved production to New Orleans in response to Georgia’s recent laws restricting access to voting.

“Emancipation” was shot in the summer of 2021. Before the slap, its release was expected in 2022. Smith resigned before he could be banned by the academy, but is still eligible for an Oscar nomination.

“My actions at the 94th Academy Awards were shocking, hurtful and inexcusable,” he said.

Since then, Smith has largely stayed out of the public eye. In late July, he made his most extensive comments about the incident in a video posted on social media in which he apologized to Rock, who made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith, Smith’s wife.