Vanessa Kirby Rules Joaquin Phoenix's Heart In New Trailer For Ridley Scott's Napoleon

Ridley Scott traverses genre with ease, but one he goes back to time and time again is historical epics. His Oscar-winning "Gladiator" clearly endeared Scott to swords and sandals. That film featured Joaquin Phoenix as the Commodus, the vile son of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius who murders and usurps his father.

In Scott's latest, Phoenix will play another ambitious tyrant; Napoleon Bonaparte, the French military genius who made himself his homeland's emperor and aspired to conquer all of Europe. The film, simply titled "Napoleon," has now released its second trailer. The first "Napoleon" trailer, released on July 10, 2023, offered a taste of the film's sure-to-be-epic scope. /Film's Ben Pearson also attended this year's CinemaCon and was served a taste of "Napoleon."

Many directors, including Stanley Kubrick, have tried to tell the French Emperor's life story on film. For Scott, though, this is not just the story of Napoleon himself, but also his great love, Empress Joséphine de Beauharnais (played by Vanessa Kirby). Speaking to Total Film, Scott observed that Joséphine was Napoleon's only weakness.

"He was such a powerful man who was, without question, a dictator, and hardly benevolent – what he said, had to go. And yet he was vulnerable on one side of his life to a woman. He was enchanted, blown away."

Joséphine's first husband — Alexandre, Viscount of Beauharnais — was guillotined during the French Revolution and she had her children seized. This experience made her into a survivor; she got pregnant to avoid execution. A resulting abortion is believed to have compromised her fertility. This complicates her relationship with Napoleon, who naturally wants an heir.

Scott described Joséphine's motivations to Total Film as such:

"She realized she had no other choice than to accept this mediocre lieutenant, who actually was on the verge of becoming a general because he had taken Toulon [...] By the time he started to grow in stature and rank, she started to pay attention. He became the Emperor of France, and she became the Empress. She's now clearly impressed. Does she love him? I don't know. Does she need him? Certainly. So, already, I think this story is more interesting than lots of battles.'"

Though a replacement for Jodie Comer (star of Scott's last epic about monarchial France, "The Last Duel"), Kirby looks like she's slithered right into the role. Forgoing her platinum blonde hair for a chocolate brown while retaining her cat's eye allure, you completely understand why Napoleon is transfixed with her. That doesn't mean it's an easy marriage. Phoenix (with Kirby's consent) improvised a moment when a crying Napoleon slaps Joséphine.

"Napoleon" was produced by Apple Original Films. In addition to its theatrical run distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing, a four-hour cut will stream on Apple TV+ at a later date. Scott is no stranger to director's cuts; he supervised the Final Cut of "Blade Runner" and when he released his intended three-hour version of "Kingdom of Heaven," he revealed that the dismissed theatrical cut was a vivisected masterpiece. Here's hoping "Napoleon" plays great in both versions.

"Napoleon" will be released in theaters on November 22, 2023.