Filmmaker Ridley Scott, who is currently helming the upcoming feature Napoleon, featuring actor Joaquin Phoenix in the lead titular role as French ruler Napoleon Bonaparte, opened up about casting the actor and reuniting with him after Gladiator.

Ridley said how he cast Joaquin after he saw the latter in Joker. "I’m staring at Joaquin and saying, ‘This little demon is Napoleon Bonaparte.’ He looks like him," Scott was quoted as saying to Empire Magazine. The director also said how he compared Napoleon to Adolf Hitler and Stalin. "Listen, he’s got a lot of bad shit under his belt. At the same time, he was remarkable with his courage, and in his can-do, and in his dominance. He was extraordinary," Ridley mentioned.

Speaking about working with Ridley once again, Phoenix said, "There was just a very nostalgic idea of working with Ridley again. I was so young. It was my first big production. I really yearned for that experience again, or something similar.”

In Napoleon, Vanessa Kirby essays the role of Josephine, the emperor's wife. The film will release in theatres on November 22. Napoleon will focus on the world famous ruler's origins, his elevation to being a ruthless emperor through the course of various battles, and strategies. The film is backed by Apple Studios, and Scott Free Productions.