Ridley Scott may have another awards contender on his hands with his latest film, Napoleon, which stars Joaquin Phoenix in the titular role. The trailer looks great and teases some epic battle scenes, while the Academy Award winner is bringing his own intensity to the main character. The historical drama is already getting major buzz, with many excited to see the acclaimed director’s take on the famed French leader. Casting the lead of a film like this is a major feat, but it sounds like after Scott saw Joker, he knew Phoenix was a shoe-in for the role.
During an interview with Empire, Ridley Scott chatted about his latest epic, teasing what audiences can expect to see. It was during the discussion that the 85-year-old Alien filmmaker also revealed he cast Joaquin Phoenix as his title character after seeing his Oscar-winning performance in Joker. He said of his experience watching the 2019 movie:
I’m staring at Joaquin and saying, ‘This little demon is Napoleon Bonaparte.’ He looks like him.
The actor's performance as Arthur Fleck may help clue people into how Ridley Scott will approach the subject matter in Napoleon. In Todd Phillips' film, the star portrayed the comic book character as a tortured soul with an anarchist mentality. He also portrayed it with a creepy and bone-chilling intensity. While the character may be different from Napoleon, they both tackle an idea of masculinity and how society and circumstance can affect the mind of an individual. Joaquin Phoenix brought a method-like quality to his acting approach in the loose DC Comics adaptation, and I’m curious as to whether he did a similar thing for his latest film.
It seems like 2023 might be the year of historical biopics about influential men in history. Cillian Murphy’s highly prepped performance as J. Robert Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer is earning him critical praise. Meanwhile, Bradley Cooper is transforming into famed composer Leonard Bernstein for his self-directed biopic, Maestro. The surprise box office success of Oppenheimer seemingly conveys that there's a hankering for this kind of auteur-directed epic. I can’t wait to see what Ridley Scott and his leading man bring to the table with their feature.
Joaquin Phoenix has a history of great performances and has proven himself as a dynamic performer. The Blade Runner filmmaker seems to agree, since he entrusted the Beau is Afraid star with such a massive and impactful role. Early footage from Napoleon is dazzling, so I wouldn't be surprised if the duo find themselves competing for Oscar gold once again. They worked together on Scott’s other historical epic, Gladiator, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture. And if this movie is half as as epic as the 2000 flick is, then it's sure to be special.
You can see Joaquin Phoenix in Ridley Scott’s Napoleon, which is set to hit theaters on November 22 as part of the schedule of 2023 new movie releases before it streams for Apple TV+ subscribers. Fans of the duo can also revisit their previous collaboration, Gladiator, using an Amazon Prime subscription.
