Joaquin Phoenix to Star as French Emperor Napoleon in Apple TV+ Film 'Kitbag' Directed by Ridley Scott - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Joaquin Phoenix to Star as French Emperor Napoleon in Apple TV+ Film 'Kitbag' Directed by Ridley Scott

by

Apple has committed to financing and producing "Kitbag," an epic film directed by Ridley Scott that will star Joaquin Phoenix as French emperor and military leader Napoleon, according to Deadline. Phoenix is well known for his Oscar-winning performance as "Joker" in 2019, and he also played Roman emperor Commodus in Scott's epic film "Gladiator" in 2000. Production of the film is expected to begin in early 2022.

Ridley Scott Joaquin Phoenix Napoleon Bonaparte 1
"Napoleon is a man I've always been fascinated by," Scott told Deadline. "He came out of nowhere to rule everything — but all the while he was waging a romantic war with his adulterous wife Josephine. 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."

"No actor could ever embody Napoleon like Joaquin," added Scott. "He created one of movie history's most complex Emperors in Gladiator, and we'll create another with his Napoleon. It's a brilliant script written by David Scarpa, and today there's no better partner than Apple to bring a story like this to a global audience."

"Kitbag" is one of several upcoming films coming to Apple TV+. A drama film "Palmer" starring Justin Timberlake is set to debut January 29, and an action-thriller film "Emancipation" starring Will Smith is in the early stages of development.

Tags: Apple TV Plus Guide, Apple TV Shows

Top Rated Comments

nutmac Avatar
nutmac
69 months ago

Joker sucked. I'm not impressed at all.
While I wouldn't go as far and say Joker sucked, it is certainly very overrated -- largely predictable and mostly a series of character development rather than developing a story into a major payoff.

What is not overrated is Joaquin Phoenix's performance. He is just riveting to watch.

Moreover, Ridley Scott had nothing to do with Joker. His action oriented story telling has potentials to be effective for the subject matter, Napoleon. There hasn't been much films or TV series about Napoleon, at least not recently.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SharkeyStormcrow Avatar
SharkeyStormcrow
69 months ago

Joker sucked. I'm not impressed at all.
So you’re going to throw away the rest of the man’s career? Makes sense.

Joker was a dreadful film, but Phoenix is a brilliant actor.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
T
timber
69 months ago
All about this project is interesting but this part makes anyone cringe.


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.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macdos Avatar
macdos
69 months ago

Gladiator was great. Expect it to be more like that.
Gladiator was extremely great, and so is anything made by Mr. Scott. However, the Bonaparte story is way more complicated.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
G
ghanwani
69 months ago
He's too tall for the role.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
N
name99
69 months ago
No
"Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News ('https://forums.macrumors.com/forums/political-news.218/') forum."
?

Poor Napoleon. One hundred and fifty years ago this would have been a third-rail issue, with everyone having a strong opinion!
Sic transit gloria mundi.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments