Months after its theatrical run, complete with full IMAX glory, Apple TV+ has set a streaming release date for Ridley Scott’s Napoleon: March 1st, 2024.
Previously titled Kitbag, this critically acclaimed historical epic starring the Academy Award-winning Joaquin Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby (obviously) depicts the exploits of the titular military genius, political figure, and Emperor of France.
It opens with Napoleon Bonaparte’s rise to power during the French Revolution (featuring such pivotal moments as the Siege of Toulon) before navigating to his infamous downfall at the Battle of Waterloo — boots, ballistics, blood, and all.
Phoenix and Kirby are joined by Tahar Rahim as Paul Barras, Ben Miles as Caulaincourt, Ludivine Sagnier as Theresa Cabarrus, Matthew Needham as Lucien Bonaparte, Youssef Kerkour as Marshal Davout, Phil Cornwell as Sanson ‘The Bourreay,’ and Edouard Philipponnat as Tsar Alexander.
For those of you who simply couldn’t get enough of the two-and-a-half-hour biopic, there’s even more good news.
Last year, Ridley Scott revealed he’d been toiling away at an XXL director’s cut of Napoleon to be released via Apple TV+.
“I’m working on it. It was four [hours] 10 [minutes] this morning,” he said at the time.
“And so what will happen is, we’ll screen [the theatrical cut] first with Sony, and then it has its run, and then the perfect thing is that [the director’s cut] goes to streaming, and we have four hours 10 minutes.”
According to Empire, this “fantastic near four-and-a-half-hour cut” features more of Joséphine de Beauharnais’ (Kirby) life before she meets Napoleon (Phoenix).
Anybody intimately familiar with Ridley Scott’s oeuvre will know the Gladiatorfilmmaker has famously been burned by studio-mandated theatrical cuts on two major occasions. So you can understand why he’s bullish on a heftier runtime for Napoleon.
The first, of course, is the original Blade Runner, which included a half-assed and entirely unnecessary voiceover from Harrison Ford as Deckard Cain.
The second was the criminally underrated Kingdom of Heaven featuring an all-star cast of Orlando Bloom, Liam Neeson, Ed Norton, Eva Green, and more.
Scott’s preferred iterations of both films have been universally acknowledged as not just the superior cuts by fans and critics alike, but the definitive versions.
Keep an eye out for Ridley Scott’s Napoleon on Apple TV+ come March 1st, 2024 — and check out the trailer above.
After stretching his legs with companies such as The Motley Fool and the odd marketing agency, Garry joined Boss Hunting in 2019 as a fully-fledged Content Specialist. In 2021, he was promoted to News Editor.
Garry proudly retains a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, black bruises from Muay Thai, as well as a black belt in all things pop culture. Drop him a line at [email protected]
