In a new interview, Will Smith compares his new Apple TV+ film Emancipation to Quentin Tarantino's Oscar-winning Django Unchained. Directed by Antoine Fuqua, who is known for his work on Training Day, The Equalizer, and 2016's Magnificent Seven remake, Emancipation tells the story of "Whipped Peter," an enslaved American depicted in one of the slavery era's most well-known and haunting photographs. The film is currently in production in New Orleans after pulling out of Georgia over the state's controversial change in voting laws.
Peter, played by Smith, is believed to have escaped confederate custody in 1893 and, after a grueling 10-day trek through Louisiana, joined the Union army and returned to the South to fight to free more enslaved Americans. Emancipation marks Smith's first film in his career that directly deals with slavery. Smith famously turned down the role of Django in 2012's Django Unchained due to creative differences with director Quentin Tarantino, a role that then went to Jamie Foxx.
In a new interview with GQ, Smith thoughtfully compared Emancipation with Django Unchained and touches briefly on why he ultimately didn't move forward with Tarantino's blood-soaked slavery-era revenge film. After touching on his earlier career goals and philosophies in terms of how he wanted to depict Black people in films, Smith explains that the key differences between Django and his current project – and why he chose one over the other – revolve around the films' themes. Read his full comment below:
“I’ve always avoided making films about slavery. In the early part of my career… I didn’t want to show Black people in that light. I wanted to be a superhero. So I wanted to depict Black excellence alongside my white counterparts. I wanted to play roles that you would give to Tom Cruise. And the first time I considered it was Django. But I didn’t want to make a slavery film about vengeance.”
Several years after Django was released, Smith revealed that he wanted the film to be more of a love story than a vengeance story, a thematic change that ultimately proved too great for Tarantino and Smith to overcome. In terms of Smith's career philosophy, where he would try to play parts that showcased Black excellence or take roles that one could see a big A-lister like Tom Cruise playing, Smith appears to have been mostly successful. Films like Independence Day, Men in Black, Bad Boys, and I Am Legend were all big hits while some of Smith's other choices like Gemini Man, Suicide Squad, and After Earth haven't totally hit the mark.
Nevertheless, Smith's comments create a new lens through which to analyze his career. Many of his choices that may not have panned out have new context now and, even though they may not have been good or successful movies, one can appreciate what Smith was trying to accomplish in his career. While Jamie Foxx was certainly a good fit for Django Unchained, it would have been interesting to see what Smith could have brought to the role and how the film would have been received had it been focused more on love than vengeance. From the limited information available, it seems that Emancipation will depict a far more grounded and raw version of slavery than Django and that the two films will vary greatly in tone, but audiences will have to wait and see for themselves when Emancipation releases in late 2022 or early 2023.
Source: GQ