After months of rumors and ongoing discussions, Jodie Comer will officially star alongside Joaquin Phoenix in Ridley Scott’s next film, Kitbag. Comer will play the Empress Joséphine opposite Phoenix’s Napoleon Bonaparte in the historical drama about their marriage.
The Free Guy actor also stars in Scott’s upcoming The Last Duel, another historical drama set in 14th century France. Comer stars as Marguerite de Carrouges alongside Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, and Adam Driver in the drama which centers around Marguerite’s sexual assault and the subsequent legal battle, as she risks being burned at the stake after confiding in her husband Jean de Carrouges.
“I just jumped at the chance to work with Ridley and his team again and the idea of working with Joaquin, who’s someone who I hugely admire,” Comer said in an interview with Variety. “I think for me, what I’m learning is […] you learn and you grow so much by being and working with the people that you’re working alongside.”
While she has not begun preparing for the role of Bonaparte’s first wife Joséphine, she looks forward to exploring a new era of French history. “And I just think having that opportunity—I’m so excited to delve into that world.”
Filming for Kitbag will begin toward the end of the year, after Comer wraps up shooting the fourth and final season of BBC’s Killing Eve. She’ll, of course, be reprising her breakout role as psychopathic assassin Villanelle. In 2019, Comer won the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress for her performance in Killing Eve, and she was nominated again in 2020.
The Last Duel is set to arrive in theaters on October 15. When Scott’s not diving into distant marital conflicts, he’s focusing on more recent ones, like in House Of Gucci, when premieres November 24.