Ben Foster, Charmaine Bingwa, Gilbert Owuor and Mustafa Shakir have joined the cast have signed for the upcoming Apple TV + original thriller Emancipation , starring Will Smith where he plays a runaway slave.
Foster will play Fassel, a man who hunts down runaway slaves, including Peter (Will Smith). Bingwa will play Dodienne, Peter's wife. Owuor plays Gordon, a man enslaved in the same camp as Peter. Lastly, Shakir plays Cailloux, a free Negro who serves in the Union army.
Emancipation is inspired by the true story of "Whipped Peter," a runaway slave who emancipated himself from a southern plantation and joined the Union army. The images of Peter's scarred back contributed to the growing public opposition to slavery in the XNUMXth century.
Antoine Fuqua will direct Emancipation, based on a screenplay by William N. Collage. Both Fuqua Films and the company Westbrook Inc. founded by Smith, are behind this project, which was sold to Apple Studios for $ 120 million in an unprecedented agreement and will premiere exclusively on Apple TV + although it will previously go through theaters, at least in the United States.
Smith, James Lassiter and Jon Mone will produce the film through Westbrook Studios. Joey McFarland of McFarland Entertainment and Todd Black of Escape Artists will also serve as executive producers alongside Fuqua and Cliff Roberts.
Production Emancipation started in early July in New Orleans, but a few days ago filming was paralyzed when an increase in the number of COVID infections in the area was detected, which has also affected several members of the production.
