exclusive: new ’emperor’ clip explores black intimacy and resistance

We loved the trailer for Emperor, the story of Shields “Emperor” Green, a descendant of African kings turned freedom fighter in the struggle for Black Liberation. Emperor is shot like an action film — lots of explosions, high-speed chases on horseback, and aggressive retaliation towards the white supremacists — which gives Green a more superhero protagonist feel instead of a typical slave narrative victim. In this exclusive clip, we see the more human, vulnerable side of Green (played by Dayo Okeniyi) in a scene with Delores (Kat Graham) that offers insight on the rage and pain faced by Black people at that time. It’s a powerful and all too familiar story, but it’s important to see ourselves in a more humane light as multidimensional versus flat caricatures.

Produced by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Reginald Hudlin (The Black Godfather, Django Unchained), Emperor also stars Naturi Naughton (Power), Mykelti Williamson (Fences), Oscar-nominee James Cromwell (Babe, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom), and Oscar-nominee Bruce Dern (Nebraska, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood). Emperor is directed by Mark Amin (The Good Kill, Frida) from a script by Amin and Pat Charles (Black Lightning, Sons of Anarchy).

Emperor opens on March 27, 2020.