‘Napolean’ First Clip: New Apple Ad features Joaquin Phoenix

The first clip for Napolean featuring Academy Award winner Joaquin Phoenix in filmmaker Ridley Scott’s next historical epic, Napoleon, has been provided by a brand-new commercial for Apple Vision Pro, the company’s “mixed reality” headset. A few snippets from the eagerly awaited film are seen in the Apple commercial, in which actor Joaquin Phoenix puts on his most egotistical expression as he readies to take over the world.

The film’s official synopsis reads, “The film is an original and personal look at Napoleon Bonaparte’s origins and his swift, ruthless climb as an emperor, viewed through the prism of his addictive and often volatile relationship with his wife and one true love, Josephine.” Scott has assembled an impressive cast to bring his protracted project to life.

Joaquin Phoenix will star as Napoleon Bonaparte, with Vanessa Kirby as Empress Joséphine, 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 Bourreau,’ and Edouard Philipponnat as Tsar Alexander.

Apple Unveils First Clip of Napoleon

The first Napoleon movie clip was shown on Monday during Apple’s WWDC 2023 Keynote event, and it featured Phoenix’s grumpy French military leader aboard a huge ship. There is an additional video depicting Phoenix’s Napoleon riding into combat in the first commercial for the Apple Vision Pro.

First look at Joaquin Phoenix as French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte in NAPOLEON pic.twitter.com/IHCml400Ra

— Joaquin Phoenix Updates (@jphoenixupdates) June 5, 2023

Napoleon’s first teaser, though brief, effectively established the mood for Joaquin Phoenix’s historical epic. It also may be a sign that a trailer will soon be available online now that Apple Studios already released the brief clip to the public.

Given recent remarks by Sony CEO Tom Rothman on a “full-throttle marketing campaign,” Apple Studios must release a teaser for Napoleon. One can expect Napoleon’s trailer to debut this summer, either as early as the second part of June or as late as August.

Napoleon finally sees the light of day

A historical epic focusing on Napoleon Bonaparte’s military accomplishments has been in development for several years. The legendary director Stanley Kubrick started developing such a concept in the late 1960s. a terrible undertaking that was abandoned for budgetary reasons. Since Kubrick’s original efforts, several other directors have tried to depict Napoleon’s life on screen, and Steven Spielberg now plans to adapt Kubrick’s idea into an HBO limited series.

But Ridley Scott, the filmmaker of Blade Runner and The Last Duel, finally brings Napoleon to the big screen. The historical figure has always attracted Scott.

Speaking about the project, Scott said, “Napoleon is a man I’ve always been fascinated by. He came out of nowhere to rule everything — but all the while, he was waging a romantic war with his adulterous wife Joséphine. 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.”