Napoleon First Trailer Debuts Ridley Scott's Brutish Emperor On The Battlefield

Considering his importance in the history of the Western world, it's no surprise that French military leader and emperor Napoleon Bonaparte has appeared in a number of movies over the years. However, he's been lacking the kind of modern big-budget biopic treatment Hollywood is so fond of. Now, he'll join the likes of Mahatma Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln, Prince Albert of "The King's Speech" fame, and Alexander the Great with an epic historical drama of his own — and judging by the people involved, the viewers are in for a doozy. 

Directed by Ridley Scott and starring the great Joaquin Phoenix in the titular role, "Napoleon" is the duo's first collaboration since "Gladiator." Considering that Scott has since gone on to earn two Academy Award nominations and Phoenix has been decorated with the Oscar for best actor in a leading role for "Joker," the two clearly continue to have what it takes to deliver something truly epic — and the impressive first trailer for "Napoleon" certainly speaks for itself.

Joaquin Phoenix is historically very good at playing haughty emperors and fragile people, and the first trailer for "Napoleon" suggests that he brings his entire bag of tricks into this movie. This is an extremely promising sign for the movie, considering what a complex person the historical Napoleon Bonaparte was, and how the film explores his personal relationship with Jósephine Bonaparte (Academy Award nominee Vanessa Kirby). 

If Phoenix and Kirby bringing their A-game into the movie that'll revolve around their characters' relationship isn't enough, it's pretty clear that the movie is also a passion project for Ridley Scott. ""Napoleon is a man I've always been fascinated by," the actor told Deadline in 2021, when the movie still went under the title "Kitbag." "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."

Jointly distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing and Apple TV+, "Napoleon" will arrive in theaters on November 22, and hit the streaming service at an as-yet unannounced date.