Dayo Okeniyi transforms into a dad desperate to save his son from slavery in Emperor, hitting theaters in March.
Based on the legend of Shields “Emperor” Green, an African royal who becomes enslaved in the U.S., the movie takes place in the pre-Civil War South. Green, who has sacrificed his own body to protect his family for years, snaps after seeing the cruelty of slavery sink into the flesh of his baby boy.
Shattered after seeing the lashes on his son’s back, Green viciously murders several of his captors and overseers, before escaping to the North and joining abolitionist John Brown’s historic raid on Harper’s Ferry Virginia. There he unleashes the power of his ancestors to completely change the course of American history forever.
Part action movie, part revenge fantasy, Emperor is Taken meets Django Unchained wrapped in a three-credit sophomore civics class.
As Green fights to avoid slave catchers during his journey, he meets several figures with their own agendas for aligning themselves with the slave-turned-outlaw, but he only has one mission: making sure his family is set free.
Power’s Naturi Naughton, The Vampire Diaries’ Kat Graham and Fences’ Mykelti Williamson star alongside Okeniyi. Each of their characters expresses concern for and fear of Okeniyi’s character as he challenges his place in the world. Still he refuses to show fear before his enemies, proudly telling his son in the trailer, “My granddaddy was a king.”
Emperor will be available in theaters on March 27.