“Snow White and the Huntsman” helmer Rupert Sanders has closed a deal to direct an untitled Napoleon biopic for Warner Bros.
Jeremy Doner penned the script with Gianni Nunnari producing. Niija Kuykendall will oversee for the studio.
The pic’s concept is that most of what the public knows about the French general is actually not true, including his famous short stature. In this version, he’s viewed almost as a gangster boss.
Doner put in tons of research, and Warners was so high on this script when it was delivered that the studio viewed it as a possible pairing for Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese.
With Scorsese working to deliver the final cut of “Wolf of Wall Street,” the studio began widening the net for other high-profile directors to take the helm before settling on Sanders.
As for the title character, the studio will look to top names such as DiCaprio and Tom Hardy to carry the historical drama but those meetings have not yet begun.
As for Sanders, after delivering a hit with “Snow White and Huntsman,” Sanders has lined up several films he is trying to make as a follow-up, including “The Kill List,” “90 Church” for Universal and Joe Roth and “The Juliet” at Fox. He is repped by CAA and attorney Carlos Goodman.