As director Ridley Scott preps his Napoleon Bonaparte biopic Kitbag with Joaquin Phoenix (Joker) as the famed emperor, Deadline reports that Scott has cast Killing Eve‘s Jodie Comer to star as Napoleon’s wife Josephine, a role which the filmmaker views as integral both to the film and Napoleon’s life.
Much like Phoenix re-teaming with Scott decades after their collaboration on Gladiator, Kitbag will reunite Comer with Scott after starring in his latest film The Last Duel, starring opposite Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Adam Driver, which is due out in the fall. According to Deadline, Scott was very impressed with Comer on The Last Duel that he sought her for Josephine and though a deal has not been formally finalized yet, Deadline says it is very likely to happen since she is Scott’s choice.
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.” Napoleon was Josephine’s second husband and though it is said they both loved each other very much, with most of Napoleon’s love letters to Josephine surviving to this day, their marriage was fraught with problems ranging from affairs and ambition. Outside of their marriage she was a keen collector of art and essentially the curator of the rose garden for the Château de Malmaison, her home and at one point the headquarters of the French government.
Kitbag was written by David Scarpa (All The Money in the World) and will be produced by Scott and Kevin Walsh through Scott Free. It will be produced by Apple Studios.
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