Ridley Scott Says His Four-Hour ‘Napoleon’ Director’s Cut Will Premiere on Apple TV+

Ridley Scott wants streaming audiences to spend four hours in the world of “Napoleon.”

The Oscar-nominated director confirmed a director’s cut of the upcoming period piece, starring Joaquin Phoenix as the French dictator, telling Total Film that a four-hour cut will be available on Apple TV+.

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“I’m working on it,” Scott said of the edit. “It was four [hours] 10 [minutes] this morning. And so what will happen is, we’ll screen [the theatrical cut] first with Sony, and then it has its run, and then the perfect thing is that [the director’s cut] goes to streaming, and we have four hours 10 minutes.”

IndieWire has reached out to representatives at Apple for comment.

Scott added that the production only took 62 days and included the reenactment of six historical battles.

“Every scene is geometry,” Scott said. “By having 11 to 14 cameras, we shot ‘Napoleon’ in 62 days. I’m doing ‘Gladiator 2’ now in 54 days, because I’m not doing 50 takes with one camera, on one shot, and then turning around.”

Originally titled “Kitbag,” “Napoleon” stars Vanessa Kirby as Napoleon’s wife, Empress Joséphine. Scott previously teased to Empire magazine that the longer cut will focus more on Kirby’s performance.

Scott explained that Phoenix’s Oscar-winning performance in “Joker” is what inspired him to reunite with the “Gladiator” actor for “Napoleon.”

“I’m staring at Joaquin and saying, ‘This little demon is Napoleon Bonaparte,'” Scott said of watching the 2019 Todd Phillips film. “He looks like him. […] With ‘Napoleon,’ I think we dug in and found the character, or as close to what he may have been. Joaquin is probably the most special, thoughtful actor I’ve ever worked with.”

“Napoleon” is set to open November 22 in theaters before streaming on Apple TV+ at an unspecified later date. For all the details on “Napoleon,” click here.

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