Sebastian Stan’s new movie The Apprentice faces opposition to being released in the United States. After premiering on May 20, 2024, at the Cannes Film Festival, The Apprentice received mostly positive reviews from critics and earned a score of 79% on Rotten Tomatoes. The Apprentice sees Stan, best known for his role as Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, portraying the real-life Donald Trump. The former United States President was recently convicted on 34 counts of falsification of business records in the first degree, which is a felony in the state of New York.

Jeremy Strong of Succession acclaim also stars in The Apprentice as Roy Cohn, a notable figure of the Lavender Scare who worked under Senator Joseph McCarthy before becoming a mentor to a younger Trump. The Apprentice was directed by Iranian director Ali Abbasi who directed two episodes of HBO’s critically acclaimed series The Last of Us and wrote and directed Netflix’s true crime movie Holy Spider (2022). The Apprentice is based on a specific era in the life of Donald Trump and has no relation to the popular reality series of the same name Trump once hosted. The screenplay is an original work written by Gabriel Sherman (The Loudest Voice).

Sebastian Stan’s Trump Movie Has International Distribution, But Not In The US

StudioCanal acquired the rights to distribute the film in the UK and Ireland

The Apprentice received an international distribution deal with StudioCanal before it even premiered at Cannes. StudioCanal acquired the rights to distribute the film in the United Kingdom and Ireland but notably not in the United States. Considering how relevant the release of The Apprentice is to current events and the upcoming 2024 United States presidential election, it’s interesting that the film is not currently available to watch anywhere else in the world, particularly in the U.S. The Apprentice depicts the life of Trump during his rise as a real estate mogul in New York City during the 1970s and 1980s.

The Apprentice was one of the highlights of the 77th Cannes Film Festival, receiving an eight-minute standing ovation following its worldwide premiere. This type of response to a motion picture at Cannes usually strikes a bidding war for distribution rights, but interestingly, this does not seem to be the case for The Apprentice. The film was made without the direct involvement or approval of Trump, whose only comments on the movie have been in the form of legal action from his attorneys. According to Deadline, The Apprentice will also be screening in Italy, Spain, France, Greece, Portugal, Japan, Australia, and more.

Studios Are Reportedly Worried About Trump’s Reaction (Especially If He’s Re-Elected)

The Apprentice reportedly portrays Trump in a certain light he is likely to find unflattering

One of the most glaring reasons why The Apprentice has yet to find a United States distributor is reportedly the fear of potential consequences from Trump. According to Variety, “The team behind “The Apprentice” believes that their difficulty securing a distribution deal is analogous to censorship. They argue that these companies are operating out of fear, because releasing the movie could land them on Trump’s bad side, a potentially dangerous place to be given that he is currently leading President Biden in the polls.” Based on the analysis in some reviews, The Apprentice portrays Trump in a way that he likely finds either inaccurate or unflattering.

American-based distributors seem to be concerned about Trump’s anticipated response to the film being picked up in the U.S., especially if he returns to the White House in 2024. David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter pointed out one of the areas of The Apprentice that Trump is likely to take issue with. “A lot can be observed about Trump’s attitude toward women from his devolving relationship with Ivana, and one shocking scene that will likely raise hackles with the former president’s supporters feeds into the multiple accusations of sexual abuse against him.” This could be one of the myriad reasons why U.S. distributors are hesitant to get involved.

The Apprentice Has Allegedly Upset One Of Its Own Financiers Over Trump’s Portrayal

One graphic scene in particular has sparked the most outrage

One of the financiers of The Apprentice was reportedly outraged when he discovered the angle of the film, expecting it to instead be much more flattering to its protagonist. Dan Snyder, a billionaire businessman and former owner of the Washington Commanders NFL team, financially supported the production company Kinematics because he believed The Apprentice would portray Trump in a positive light. Snyder first saw a cut of The Apprentice in February 2024 and was reportedly outraged by the results (via Variety). Although the Kinematics production is partially funded by Snyder, he was not involved in the creative process of The Apprentice whatsoever.

Snyder has donated more than $1 million to support Trump’s presidential campaigns, which explains his aversion to The Apprentice. The reported additional pressure from Snyder would only add to why The Apprentice is a risky acquisition for any distributor. One graphic scene in particular involving Trump and his first wife Ivana allegedly angered Snyder the most and is the reason why the film and its creative team could face legal action from Trump himself. Considering all this, all U.S. distributors and even the major studios are seemingly avoiding what could turn into a contentious legal battle.

The Apprentice Could Potentially Face Lawsuits From Donald Trump Himself

The film will be screened internationally but likely not the U.S anytime soon

With Snyder being a close friend of Trump, it’s no surprise that he came to his defense after seeing the reality of what The Apprentice was actually about. Steven Cheung, the communications director of Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, has recently threatened legal action against the film and its creators because of the aforementioned graphic scene. Regardless, The Apprentice is expected to hit theaters around the world with the controversial scene included. Snyder and Kinematics cannot prevent the film from being distributed because they don’t own the rights to the screenplay.

The Apprentice’s Director Has Blamed The Movie’s Release Woes On “Power People”

Abbasi took to the internet to allege the intentional censorship of his film

Director Ali Abbasi took to X (Twitter) to voice his opinion on the apparent censorship of his film in the United States. In response to a tweet from The Nation commenting on this past Memorial Day’s abysmal box office performance, Abbassi wrote, “We have a new proposition for you. It’s not a f–king sequel nor is it a f–king remake. It’s called #TheApprentice and for some reason certain power people in your country don’t want you to see it!!!“. Abbasi is essentially implying that powerful Trump supporters are doing what they can to prevent the release of the film in the U.S. so that it won’t hurt his 2024 presidential campaign. At this time, it’s uncertain whether The Apprentice will ever be screened in the United States.