Apple TV+ Movie 'The Banker' AFI Fest Premiere Canceled as Apple Investigates Film 'Concerns' [Update: Theatrical Release Delayed Too]

Upcoming Apple TV+ film "The Banker" was set to have its world premiere at the AFI Fest in Hollywood on Thursday, but its debut has been postponed by Apple, reports Deadline.

Apple is holding the show to investigate "recently uncovered and potentially damaging charges" surfaced by a family member of the late Bernard Garrett Sr, who the movie is based on.


In a statement, Apple said that "concerns" surrounding the film were brought to the company's attention, and its premiere has been delayed as Apple investigates.

We purchased The Banker earlier this year as we were moved by the film's entertaining and educational story about social change and financial literacy. Last week some concerns surrounding the film were brought to our attention. We, along with the filmmakers, need some time to look into these matters and determine the best next steps. In light of this, we are no longer premiering The Banker at AFI Fest.

"The Banker" is based on the true story of Bernard Garrett and Joe Morris, who devised a plan to help African Americans get access to real estate deals and bank loans during the 1960s.

The film stars Samuel L. Jackson as Joe Morris and Anthony Mackie as Bernard Garett, along with Nicholas Hoult and Nia Long.

Apple has already set a theatrical release date of December 6 for the movie, and it's not yet clear if it will still come out on that date. Following its theatrical debut, "The Banker" was set to come out on ‌Apple TV‌+.

Update: Apple has delayed the theatrical release of "The Banker" and it's not yet clear if and when the movie will see a release.

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in Three Months With These 12 New Features

Saturday June 14, 2025 5:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X through iPhone 14 Pro have a...
iPadOS 26 App Windowing

Apple Explains Why iPads Don't Just Run macOS

Friday June 13, 2025 7:46 am PDT by
iPadOS 26 allows iPads to function much more like Macs, with a new app windowing system, a swipe-down menu bar at the top of the screen, and more. However, Apple has stopped short of allowing iPads to run macOS, and it has now explained why. In an interview this week with Swiss tech journalist Rafael Zeier, Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi said that iPadOS 26's new Mac-like ...
Logitech Logo Feature

Logitech Announces Two New Accessories for WWDC

Friday June 13, 2025 7:22 am PDT by
Alongside WWDC this week, Logitech announced notable new accessories for the iPad and Apple Vision Pro. The Logitech Muse is a spatially-tracked stylus developed for use with the Apple Vision Pro. Introduced during the WWDC 2025 keynote address, Muse is intended to support the next generation of spatial computing workflows enabled by visionOS 26. The device incorporates six degrees of...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday June 12, 2025 8:58 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
iOS 26 Feature

Apple Seeds Revised iOS 26 Developer Beta to Fix Battery Issue

Friday June 13, 2025 10:15 am PDT by
Apple today provided developers with a revised version of the first iOS 26 beta for testing purposes. The update is only available for the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 models, so if you're running iOS 26 on an iPhone 14 or earlier, you won't see the revised beta. Registered developers can download the new beta software through the Settings app on each device. The revised beta addresses an...
Mac Studio Feature

Apple Begins Selling Refurbished Mac Studio With M4 Max and M3 Ultra Chips at a Discount

Thursday June 12, 2025 10:14 am PDT by
Apple today added Mac Studio models with M4 Max and M3 Ultra chips to its online certified refurbished store in the United States, Canada, Japan, Singapore, and many European countries, for the first time since they were released in March. As usual for refurbished Macs, prices are discounted by approximately 15% compared to the equivalent new models on Apple's online store. Note that Apple's ...
m4 macbook air pink

Apple Now Selling Refurbished M4 MacBook Air Models

Friday June 13, 2025 3:34 pm PDT by
Apple today added M4 MacBook Air models to its refurbished store in the United States, making the latest MacBook Air devices available at a discounted price for the first time since they launched earlier this year. Both 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models are available, with Apple offering multiple capacities and configurations. The refurbished devices are discounted by approximately 15...

Top Rated Comments

konqerror Avatar
73 months ago
Apple TV+ should make a show based on itself. It seems ideal: plenty of drama and social justice at the same time.
Score: 52 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DDustiNN Avatar
73 months ago
Let me guess... someone was offended?
Score: 48 Votes (Like | Disagree)
alphaod Avatar
73 months ago

I mean it says someone related to the guy the movie is about has made "serious accusations" about him, so for all you know he could be a child rapist - is that not offensive enough for you?
Did he get accused of being a child rapist, because I didn't read that anywhere.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rmoliv Avatar
73 months ago
Let me guess, the social justice "hero" the movie is about is a creep after all... :lol:
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
danny842003 Avatar
73 months ago

So now Apple is playing "gate keeper" for what video content we can see and not see?
Their attempt to provide original content will be an epic failure.
Why? Because you take any movie/actors and someone somewhere will ALWAYS be offended.
And once you start rolling over to the demands of the rabble, you will never have any backbone to ever stand again.
i don’t think you can accuse them of being a gatekeeper by not releasing their own movie. When they start restricting other media then you can make all the claims you want.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jonblatho Avatar
73 months ago

Did he get accused of being a child rapist, because I didn't read that anywhere.
I think it’s pretty obvious that the person was speculating as to how serious the accusation could be. In any case, whatever it is, the accusation is serious enough that AFI Fest did something “virtually unprecedented” in pulling the movie as its closing-night film, per the Deadline article linked in the story, pending more information.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)