Napoleon Movie Trailer Starring Joaquin Phoenix Released

By Jamie Lovett

Sony Pictures has released the first trailer for Napoleon, Ridley Scott's epic biopic, which stars Joker's Joaquin Phoenix as the French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, hitting theaters this Thanksgiving and Apple TV+ after that. The historical drama will chronicle Napoleon's rise to power in France following the French Revolution, his bid for global power and domination as the French emperor, and his eventual defeat at the Battle of Waterloo and exile to the Island of St. Helena. Vanessa Kirby and Tahar Rahim join Phoenix in Napoleon. Here is Sony Pictures' official synopsis for Ridley Scott's Napoleon:

"Napoleon is a spectacle-filled action epic that details the checkered rise and fall of the iconic French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, played by Oscar-winner Joaquin Phoenix. Against a stunning backdrop of large-scale filmmaking orchestrated by legendary director Ridley Scott, the film captures Bonaparte's relentless journey to power through the prism of his addictive, volatile relationship with his one true love, Josephine, showcasing his visionary military and political tactics against some of the most dynamic practical battle sequences ever filmed."

Napoleon Cast

In Napoleon, Joaquin Phoenix plays Napoleon Bonaparte. Vanessa Kirby plays Napoleon's love and eventual empress Joséphine, and Tahar Rahim plays French revolutionary leader Paul Barras.

Napoleon's cast also includes Ben Miles as Napoleon's advisor Caulaincourt, Ludivine Sagnier as socialite Theresa Cabarrus, Madame Tallien, Matthew Needham as Napoleon's brother Lucien, Youssef Kerkour as Marshal Davout, one of Napoleon's commanders, Phil Cornwell as Sanson 'The Bourreau', king of France, Edouard Philipponnat as Tsar Alexander, Ian McNeice, Paul Rhys as the diplomat Talleyrand, John Hollingworth as celebrated soldier Marshal Ney, Gavin Spokes as Moulins, and Mark Bonnar as Jean-Andoche Junot. Ridley Scott directs from a screenplay by David Scarpa.

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(Photo: Sony Pictures)

When does Napoleon release? 

Ridley Scott has devoted himself recently to historical dramas. Before Napoleon, he directed The Last Duel, and his next movie is Gladiator 2 (he worked with Phoenix previously on the original Gladiator).

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"First of all, I love doing period films. I love the research. I love to create sort of smells of the period," Scott told the press of this trend. "I think what we did with the first Gladiator…I don't like being critical of other things that have happened before, but I wasn't the biggest fan of Hollywood Roman epics, honestly. They felt artificial and so, when I was asked to consider a script, the script was not very good. But the person who gave it to me said, I want to show you one thing, and he picked up an illustration, this is true, it's called For Those About to Die by Gérôme. He holds it up. It's a picture of this big painting of the Coliseum, and in the corner there is this guy, about to tuna fork this poor bastard," Scott continued. "He's got this thing in his neck, and he's looking up for permission to kill. I went, bloody hell, that's never been done properly before. Never. I said, I'll do it. He said you will? I said yes. Did you want to read the script? I said no, and we went off and hit the ground running around the table, and evolved the new material."

Napoleon opens in theaters on Thanksgiving.

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