Napoleon will soon be returning from exile and Baz Luhrmann may be leading the way.
Producer Steven Spielberg is reportedly courting the Australian director to call the shots on HBO’s highly-anticipated miniseries “Napoleon,” based on Stanley Kubrick’s famously unrealized screenplay.
Although no deal is yet in place, according to Deadline, the move would likely find Luhrmann directing the entire min, which centers on the 19th century French leader’s staggering conquest of Europe, his defeat at the hands of coalition forces at Waterloo and his eventual island exile.
No casting has yet been announced.
Kubrick spent years researching Bonaparte’s life, and wrote a screenplay in 1961. He was set to direct it after 1968’s revolutionary “2001: A Space Odyssey,” but MGM cancelled the project, citing budgetary issues.
At the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, Spielberg announced that he and HBO would develop the project as a TV miniseries.
Luhrmann’s most recent film was the hit “The Great Gatsby,” and his 2001 “Moulin Rouge!” was nominated for Best Picture. “Napoleon” would be his first foray into television.
Meanwhile, Warner Bros. is working on a feature version of Napoleon’s life, with Rupert Sanders (“Snow White and the Huntsman”) set to direct.
Do you think Luhrmann is a good choice to direct “Napoleon”?