''Napoleon'' is an upcoming

epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film with heroic elements Epic or EPIC may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and medi ...

historical drama film A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romances, adventure films, and swas ...

directed and produced by

Ridley Scott Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is a British film director and producer. Directing, among others, science fiction films, his work is known for its atmospheric and highly concentrated visual style. Scott has received many accolades thr ...

and written by

David Scarpa David Scarpa is an American screenwriter. He is best known for writing the screenplays to ''The Last Castle'', the 2008 remake of ''The Day the Earth Stood Still'' and ''All the Money in the World'', about the John Paul Getty III kidnapping, whi ...

. It stars

Joaquin Phoenix Joaquin Rafael Phoenix (; né Bottom; born October 28, 1974) is an American actor. He is known for playing dark and unconventional characters in independent films. He has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academ ...

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

and depicts the French leader's rise to power. The film is scheduled to be released on

Apple TV+ Apple TV is a digital media player and microconsole developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is a small network appliance hardware that plays received media data such as video and audio to a television set or external display. Since its secon ...

Premise

The film depicts

's rise to power through the lens of his addictive and volatile relationship with Empress Joséphine.

Cast

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

Vanessa Kirby Vanessa Nuala Kirby (born 18 April 1988) is an English actress. She has received several accolades, including a BAFTA TV Award, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award. Born in London to urologist Roger Ki ...

as Empress Joséphine * Tahar Rahim as Paul Barras *

Ben Miles Benjamin Charles Miles (born 29 September 1966) is an English actor, best known for his starring role as Patrick Maitland in the television comedy ''Coupling'', from 2000 to 2004, as Montague Dartie in ''The Forsyte Saga'', from 2002 to 2003, as ...

as Caulaincourt * Ludivine Sagnier as Theresa Cabarrus *

Matthew Needham Matthew George Timothy Needham (born 13 April 1984) is a British actor. He has worked on stage and screen, appearing in television series such as ''Casualty'', '' Endeavour'', and ''Sanditon''. For his performance in the play ''Britannicus'', he ...

as Lucien Bonaparte *

Youssef Kerkour Youssef Kerkour is a Moroccan-British actor. He is best known for portraying Syrian refugee Sami in the comedy-drama series ''Home'', a role for which he was nominated at the 2020 British Academy Television Awards. Early life and education Ker ...

as General Davout * Phil Cornwell as Sanson 'The Bourreau' * Edouard Philipponnat as Tsar Alexander * Ian McNeice * Paul Rhys as Talleyrand * John Hollingworth as Marshal Ney * Gavin Spokes as Moulins

Production

Development

On October 14, 2020, the same day his film '' The Last Duel'' wrapped filming,

announced ''Kitbag'' as his next project for

20th Century Studios 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...

, which he would direct and produce from a screenplay written by Scott's '' All the Money in the World'' collaborator

. The film's title was derived from the saying, "There is a general's staff hidden in every soldier's

kitbag Kitbag Ltd. is a England sports retailer. The company was purchased by Fanatics, Inc. from Findel PLC in February 2016 for £11.5M, previously the company was purchased by Findel PLC in October 2006 from European Home Retail plc. Stores ...

." The film is now titled ''Napoleon''.

was reportedly attached to star as the French general and Emperor of France

Napoléon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

, reuniting him with the director after ''

Gladiator A gladiator ( la, gladiator, "swordsman", from , "sword") was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gla ...

'' in 2000. However, when Scott's deal with 20th Century Studios concluded by the end of the year, the project became available to other major studios. In January 2021, Apple Studios announced its commitment to finance and produce the film, with shooting scheduled to take place in the United Kingdom in 2022. "Napoleon is a man I've always been fascinated by", Scott said in a statement, "He came out of nowhere to rule everything — but all the while he was waging a romantic war with his adulterous wife Joséphine. He conquered the world to try to win her love, and when he couldn't, he conquered it to destroy her, and destroyed himself in the process." ''The Last Duel'' actress Jodie Comer was reportedly Scott's first choice to play Empress Joséphine. She entered negotiations to star in March 2021, confirmed her casting in September, and said, "I just jumped at the chance to work with Ridley and his team again and the idea of working with Joaquin, who's someone who I hugely admire ... I'm so excited to delve into that world." In November, she said her role was "going to be another huge challenge, but what I love about period dramas is that kind of transformation. Even now, doing some costume and hair tests for ''Kitbag'', it's just so exciting because it becomes so much easier to step out of yourself and into somebody else." That same month,

was confirmed to star. On January 4, 2022, Comer revealed her departure from the film due to scheduling changes caused by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

was announced as her replacement later that day. On January 18, 2022, producer

Kevin J. Walsh Kevin J. Walsh is an American film producer. He is best known for producing the critically acclaimed film '' Manchester by the Sea'' (2016) through his production company, B Story, in which he earned an Academy Award for Best Picture nomination w ...

said the film had been retitled ''Napoleon''. In February, Tahar Rahim was added to the cast.

Filming

Production began in February 2022. The film will feature six major battle sequences, unlike another film featuring Napoleon, ''

Waterloo Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, a battle on 18 June 1815 in which Napoleon met his final defeat * Waterloo, Belgium, where the battle took place. Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Antarctica *King George Island (S ...

'' (1970), that focused on a single battle. ''Napoleon'' was shot under the working title ''Marengo'', a reference to the Battle of Marengo (1800). Filming took place in

Lincoln, England Lincoln () is a cathedral city, a non-metropolitan district, and the county town of Lincolnshire, England. In the 2021 Census, the Lincoln district had a population of 103,813. The 2011 census gave the Lincoln Urban Area, urban area of Lincoln, ...

, in March 2022. The crew reportedly spent a week to prepare

Lincoln Cathedral Lincoln Cathedral, Lincoln Minster, or the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln and sometimes St Mary's Cathedral, in Lincoln, England, is a Grade I listed cathedral and is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Lincoln. Constructio ...

, which stood in for

Notre-Dame de Paris Notre-Dame de Paris (; meaning "Our Lady of Paris"), referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the Seine River), in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. The cathedral, dedicated to the ...

. Shooting took place in the cathedral on March 17 and March 18, between 7am and 7pm. Filming also took place at Stowe Avenue and House, Buckinghamshire;

Blenheim Palace Blenheim Palace (pronounced ) is a country house in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England. It is the seat of the Dukes of Marlborough and the only non-royal, non- episcopal country house in England to hold the title of palace. The palace, on ...

Woodstock, Oxfordshire Woodstock is a market town and civil parish, north-west of Oxford in West Oxfordshire in the county of Oxfordshire, England. The 2011 Census recorded a parish population of 3,100. Blenheim Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is next to Wo ...

;

West Wycombe Park West Wycombe Park is a country house built between 1740 and 1800 near the village of West Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England. It was conceived as a pleasure palace for the 18th-century libertine and dilettante Sir Francis Dashwood, 2nd Barone ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

, England;, Petworth House in

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

, England, and

Boughton House Boughton House is a country house in the parish of Weekley in Northamptonshire, England, situated about north-east of Kettering. It is situated within an estate of . The present house was built by Ralph Montagu, 1st Duke of Montagu (d.1709), ...

Kettering Kettering is a market and industrial town in North Northamptonshire, England. It is located north of London and north-east of Northampton, west of the River Ise, a tributary of the River Nene. The name means "the place (or territory) of Ket ...

, England. It was also set to shoot in

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

for three weeks, starting in May 2022. Fort Ricasoli in Kalkara, Malta, is set to be transformed into the site of 1793's siege of Toulon, where Napoleon had his first victory.

References

External links

* {{Apple TV+ American epic films American historical drama films American war drama films Apple TV+ original films Films about Napoleon British epic films British historical drama films British war drama films Depictions of Napoleon on film Films directed by Ridley Scott Films set in Paris Films set in the 18th century Films set in the 19th century Films shot in Lincolnshire Films shot in Malta Scott Free Productions films Upcoming English-language films Upcoming films