Ridley Scott’s Napoleon: CinemaCon Footage Showcases an Epic Battle Scene Starring Joaquin Phoenix

At CinemaCon 2023, Sony has revealed a first look at an epic battle scene from Ridley Scott’s Napoleon that showcases Joaquin Phoenix as the French emperor and military leader.

According to Apple, Napoleon, which is a historical action epic from Apple Original Films that is set to be released in theaters on November 22, 2023, is a “personal look at Napoleon’s origins and his swift, ruthless climb to emperor, viewed through the prism of his addictive and often volatile relationship with his wife and one true love, Josephine, played by Vanessa Kirby.”

In the footage, we join Napoleon and his forces after they have been discovered by the Russian and Austrian armies. We see Napoleon looking at enemy troops through a spyglass before he screams, “Wait! Let them think they have the high ground.”

The enemy starts to charge and Napoleon tricks his opponent to retreat onto a frozen lake. As they scream, “it’s a trap,” Napoleon unleashes his cannons that quickly shatter the ice, sending the troops and horses to an icy, watery grave.

It’s a very intense and terrifying scene, with men getting trapped under horses in an attempt to not get pulled into the lake. There is lots of blood in the water, which stands in stark contrast to the very grey-blue-white color palette in the scene.

Napoleon is produced by Ridley Scott, Kevin Walsh, Mark Huffam, and Joaquin Phoenix. Michael Pruss and Aidan Elliot are serving as executive producers.

For more from Phoenix, check out the latest images from Joker: Folie à Deux, which will arrive in theaters on October 4, 2024.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.