Late last year, news broke that director Ridley Scott would team with Joaquin Phoenix on an upcoming Napoleon film and now comes word that the film, Kitbag, has found a home at Apple.
This film is a passion project for Scott, and we will see him team with Phoenix for the first time since 2000’s Oscar-winning epic Gladiator. Kitbag was penned by David Scarpa, who previously worked with Scott on All the Money in the World. Variety describes the project as the “kind of movie that traditional Hollywood studios used to make” before getting into the superhero business.
As per original reports, Kitbag will offer “a look at Napoleon’s origins and swift, ruthless climb to emperor status, viewed through the prism of his addictive and often volatile relationship with his wife and one true love, Josephine.” At the time of reporting, there’s no word on who will play Josephine yet.
“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.”
Joaquin Phoenix is coming off an Academy Award win for Best Actor for Joker, and Scott has a handful of projects on his plate, including finishing touches on The Last Duel and prepping to team with Lady Gaga for Gucci.
