Ridley Scott brings his historical film skills to France for the epic biopic Napoleon, which comes to us from Apple Originals. The director is currently on hiatus filming the sequel, Gladiator 2, while the SAG-AFTRA strike still marches on. And recently, the Blade Runner filmmaker recently revealed that he has a whopping four-and-a-half-hour director’s cut of Napoleon that he’s working on. Apple has just released the new trailer for the film.
The official synopsis from Apple reads,
Napoleon is an original and personal look at Napoleon’s origins and his swift, ruthless climb to emperor, viewed through the prism of his addictive and often volatile relationship with his wife and one true love, Josephine. The film captures Napoleon’s famous battles, relentless ambition, and astounding strategic mind as an extraordinary military leader and war visionary.
The film stars Joaquin Phoenix in the titular role of the French emperor. Phoenix is joined by Vanessa Kirby as Empress Josephine, as well as Tahar Rahim, Mark Bonnar, Rupert Everett, and Youssef Kerkour. Ridley Scott directs Napoleon from a script by David Scarpa. The producers on board include Kevin J. Walsh, Mark Huffman, Joaquin Phoenix, and Ridley Scott. The executive producers of the film are Raymond Kirk, Aidan Elliott, and Michael Pruss.
The biopic will be released by Apple in association with Sony Pictures Entertainment. The film is set to have a worldwide theatrical launch on November 22. After the run in cinemas, Napoleon will then stream globally on AppleTV+. Napoleon will be joining Apple’s other big awards season release, Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, as they both embark on an ambitious conquest to mount a successful theatrical showing for the Academy’s contention before being available exclusively on the streaming platform.
It was also previously revealed that Apple is giving this film the IMAX treatment as they have with Killers of the Flower Moon, which is a newer venture for both Scorsese and Scott, so it will be a rare pleasure to experience, especially since the movies were initially focused for the streaming service.