Joaquin Phoenix Claims the French Throne In the New Trailer for 'Napoleon'

All hail the Emperor. The trailer for the upcoming historical drama Napoleon promises a sweeping, action-packed epic that will reveal the true man behind the myth of Napoleon Bonaparte.

The highly anticipated film hails from Ridley Scott, the award-winning director behind movies like Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven, and The Last Duel. Napoleon aims to showcase the iconic French general's visionary strategic and military prowess alongside the intense love story that would come to define much of his life.

Oscar winner Joaquin Phoenix (Joker) plays Napoleon alongside The Crown's Vanessa Kirby as his wife, Josephine de Beauharnais. She was six years older than Napoleon when the two wed in 1796, despite the fact that his family wasn't exactly excited about his choice to marry an older widow with two children. (Her first husband was arrested and guillotined during the Revolution.) Though the pair is often remembered by history as one of its greatest love affairs, it did not start out that way --- he needed a rich wife and she needed a patron. It's also commonly accepted wisdom that Napoleon initially loved his wife much more than she loved him, and that she took some time to warm to him and his affections. (Though their relationship seems to have found its footing by the time he became emperor.)