The release plans for the Apple TV+ film Emancipation are said to be up in the air following the controversy created by Will Smith at the Academy Awards this year. About a month before the Oscars, Smith had wrapped filming on Emancipation which some had already been touting as having Academy Award potential. The plan was to release the film this fall, but after Smith tarnished his reputation by smacking Chris Rock on stage, Emancipation was reportedly pushed back to 2023.

Making matters worse for Smith, he had also been banned from attending all Academy events for the next decade, including the Oscars ceremony. That does not mean that the actor or the movies he appears in cannot still be nominated for Oscars, however. As now reported by The New York Times, there are internal discussions at Apple about possibly releasing Emancipation this year after all, which would qualify the film for the next year’s awards season.

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The thinking behind releasing Emancipation this year is said to be from the film performing very well with a recent general audience test screening. The response was “overwhelmingly positive,” with Smith’s performance in particular drawing high praise. One viewer is quoted as describing the actor as “volcanic” in the movie. Viewers questioned after the screening also said they were “not turned off” by Smith’s actions at the Oscars, at least not to the point of letting it affect their experience watching the film.

Would the Oscars Slap Overshadow Will Smith’s Performance?

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Meanwhile, there’s also said to be a big risk in going forward with a 2022 release for Emancipation. This could possibly upset Academy voters who are looking to exclude any reminders of the Oscars slap at the 2023 ceremony, as there won’t even be jokes told about the controversy permitted at next year’s show. Some may feel that it’s best to allow more time to pass so the Oscars slap won’t become the primary focus of the coverage Emancipation receives in the media.

“Regardless of the quality of the movie, all of the press, all the reviewers, all of the feature writers, all the awards prognosticators are going to be looking at it and talking about the slap,” former Fox Searchlight co-chief executive Stephen Gilula said about the situation. “There’s a very high risk that the film will not get judged on its pure merit. It puts it into a very untenable context.”

In any case, for what it’s worth, Smith has apologized in a video that was posted to his YouTube account. He says he’s attempted to sort things out directly with Chris Rock, who hasn’t been willing to meet with him at this time, but wanted everyone to know that he’s sorry.

“I was fogged out by that point. It is all fuzzy," Smith says in the video. “I’ve reached out to Chris and the message that came back is that, he’s not ready to talk. When he is, he will reach out. I will say to you, Chris, I apologize to you. My behavior was unacceptable and I am here whenever you are ready to talk.”