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

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.

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Render Front Page Tech

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. iPhone 17 Pro's alleged design via Front Page Tech Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone...
iCloud General Feature Redux

iPhone Users Who Pay for iCloud Storage Receive a New Perk

Thursday March 20, 2025 12:01 am PDT by
If you pay for iCloud storage on your iPhone, Apple has a new perk for you, at no additional cost. The new perk is the ability to create invitations in the Apple Invites app for the iPhone, which launched in the App Store last month. In the Apple Invites app, iCloud+ subscribers can create invitations for any occasion, such as birthday parties, graduations, baby showers, and more. Anyone ...
iOS 18

Top 5 New Features Coming in iOS 18.4

Friday March 21, 2025 3:26 pm PDT by
We're not getting new Siri Apple Intelligence features in iOS 18.4 as expected, but the upcoming update does have quite a few new additions that will be worth upgrading for. We've rounded up the five best features to look forward to, and if you're not running the beta, you can expect to get access to these in early April. Priority Notifications If you have an iPhone or iPad that supports...
Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock

iOS 19 Coming in June With These New Features

Thursday March 20, 2025 2:04 pm PDT by
While the first iOS 19 beta is still more than two months away, there are already plenty of rumors about the upcoming software update. Below, we recap the key iOS 19 rumors so far. visionOS-Like Design In January, the YouTube channel Front Page Tech revealed a redesigned Camera app that is allegedly planned for iOS 19. According to Front Page Tech host Jon Prosser, the Camera app...
Generic iOS 18

Apple Seeds iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 Release Candidate With Priority Notifications, Ambient Music and More

Monday March 24, 2025 10:07 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming a week after Apple released the fourth betas. iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software Update. With iOS 18.4, Apple is adding the Priority Notifications...
airpods max 2024 colors

Don't Buy Into Apple's Hype About AirPods Max Gaining Lossless Audio

Monday March 24, 2025 4:24 pm PDT by
Apple today announced that AirPods Max with a USB-C port will be gaining support for lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio with a firmware update next month, alongside the release of iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, and macOS 15.4. For context, audio files are typically compressed to keep file sizes smaller. There are lossy compression standards like MP3, and Apple's own Advanced Audio Codec...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Iridescent Search

Foldable iPhone Expected to Launch Next Year, Costing Around $2,000

Monday March 24, 2025 3:43 am PDT by
Apple will launch its long-rumored foldable iPhone next year with a ~$2,000 premium price tag attached, expects well-connected Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman. Gurman's comments on Apple's launch plans for its first foldable device appeared in the Q&A section of his latest Power On newsletter. Earlier this month, the reporter said Apple's foldable iPhone could be arriving "as early as 2026,"...
iOS 19 Rounded UI Elements Light

iOS 19: What to Expect From Apple's Dramatic Design Overhaul?

Monday March 24, 2025 9:47 am PDT by
Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported that Apple is planning "one of the most dramatic software overhauls in the company's history" – an update that aims to bring iOS, iPadOS, and macOS into closer visual alignment. The redesign is said to be "loosely based" on visionOS, the software behind Apple's Vision Pro headset, and will reportedly update the look of icons, menus, apps, windows, and...

Top Rated Comments

SharkeyStormcrow Avatar
55 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)
nutmac Avatar
55 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)
ghanwani Avatar
55 months ago
He's too tall for the role.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macdos Avatar
55 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)
timber Avatar
55 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)
name99 Avatar
55 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)