Napoleon trailer: Joaquin Phoenix transforms into the French emperor

The first trailer of Ridley Scott's Napoleon is here. Joaquin Phoenix teams up with his Gladiator director to star in this epic historical drama, which sees him play the French commander Napoleon Bonaparte. The film sees the rise of Napoleon and his romance with Empress Joséphine (played by Vanessa Kirby). 

The trailer, which was unveiled by Sony Pictures and Apple TV+ on YouTube on 10 July, begins in France in 1793. As Napoleon is given access to power, the historical epic traces his ascent to rule over the kingdom and his volatile relationship with Josephine.

The film gives us a glimpse of how they both meet and as Napoleon is entrusted with more power with the passing of time, he steadily turns into a tyrant. "I am destined for greatness. But those in power will only see me as a sword," he says.

The stunning trailer ends with a scene where Napoleon commands to shoot an army of soldiers who realise that they are walking on frost.

The official logline of the film reads, "Napoleon is a spectacle-filled action epic that details the checkered rise and fall of the iconic French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, played by Oscar®-winner Joaquin Phoenix. Against a stunning backdrop of large-scale filmmaking orchestrated by legendary director Ridley Scott, the film captures Bonaparte's relentless journey to power through the prism of his addictive, volatile relationship with his one true love, Josephine, showcasing his visionary military and political tactics against some of the most dynamic practical battle sequences ever filmed."