Here’s when Ridley Scott’s ‘Napoleon’ biopic is coming out

Ridley Scott’s Napoleon film, starring Joaquin Phoenix as the French military leader and emperor, has officially received a release date.

The new film will be released in UK cinemas on November 22, before hitting streaming service Apple TV+ at a later date.

The historical drama will follow the life of Napoleon, who led his country to a revolution in 1789. According to the official synopsis, the film “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.”

Directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Scott from a screenplay by David Scarpa, who has also written the upcoming sequel to Scott’s 2000 epic Gladiator, the movie is Scott’s first in two years after acclaimed crime drama House Of Gucci. Opposite Phoenix, Vanessa Kirby will star as Empress Josephine, with a cast rounded out by Ben Miles, Tahar Rah, Ludivine Sagnier and John Hollingworth.

Phoenix previously worked with Scott more than 20 years ago on the set of the classic 2000 film Gladiator. He played villainous emperor Commodus.

Napoleon began production in February 2022, and wrapped filming within the same year.

Scott revealed to Empire that casting Phoenix as Napoleon resulted in rewriting the script in the middle of production to make Phoenix feel more comfortable.

“Joaquin is about as far from conventional as you can get,” Scott said. “Not deliberately, but out of intuition. That’s what makes him tick. If something bothers him, he’ll let you know. He made [Napoleon] special by constantly questioning.”

He continued: “With Napoleon, I think we dug in and found the character, or as close to what he may have been.

“With Joaquin, we can rewrite the goddamn film because he’s uncomfortable. And that kind of happened with Napoleon,” he said. “We unpicked the film to help him focus on who Bonaparte was. I had to respect that, because what was being said was incredibly constructive. It made it all grow bigger and better.”

In other news, Phoenix was recently spotted in new photos on the set of Joker 2 with Lady Gaga. They can be seen filming on the well-known steps in New York neighbourhood the Bronx. The steps featured in a now iconic scene from original movie Joker, as well as numerous films and TV series from down the years.

Joker: Folie à Deux is set to be released on October 4, 2024 in cinemas.

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