What you need to know
- Jodie Comer has reportedly been cast in Apple TV+ epic Kitbag from Ridley Scott.
- She will star opposite Joaquin Phoenix, who plays Napoleon Bonaparte.
- The film is "an original and personal look" at Napoleon's origins and his rise to the position of Emperor through the eyes of his wife.
A new report says Apple TV+ epic Kitbag has a lead in Jodie Comer, who will play Josephine opposite Joaquin Phoenix as the emperor Napoleon.
From Deadline:
After blowing him away with her upcoming performance in The Last Duel, Ridley Scott is moving fast to work with Killing Eve star Jodie Comer again and looks to have found that next project to team up on. Sources tell Deadline that Comer is Scott's choice to play Napoleon Bonaparte's beloved Josephine in Apple Studios' upcoming epic Kitbag. Insiders add that it is early talks in dealmaking process but given this is Scott's choice all signs point to it coming it together. Joaquin Phoenix is set to star in the Bonaparte role, with Scott planning to direct after he finishes the MGM crime thriller House of Gucci starring Lady Gaga.
Apple agreed to finance Kitbag earlier this year. The film is described as "an original and personal look at Napoleon's origins and his swift, ruthless climb to the station of emperor, viewed through the prism of his addictive and often volatile relationship with his wife and one true love, Josephine."
The casting has drawn some criticism from historians, who note that one of the most important dynamics of this relationship was the fact that Napoleon was younger than his wife:
I think Jodie would be an amazing Josephine, but give Napoleon to a younger man, not someone nearly 20 years older than her, pretending to be a lot younger than she is. We need to know Josephine was older than Napoleon. That dynamic matters.I think Jodie would be an amazing Josephine, but give Napoleon to a younger man, not someone nearly 20 years older than her, pretending to be a lot younger than she is. We need to know Josephine was older than Napoleon. That dynamic matters.— Dr Fern Riddell (@FernRiddell) March 3, 2021March 3, 2021
https://twitter.com/mikeduncan/status/1367073774705778689?s=20
Production on Kitbag is expected to begin in the UK next year.
