Steven Spielberg Bringing Stanley Kubrick’s ‘Napoleon’ to TV?

For decades, Stanley Kubrick's abandoned 'Napoleon' project has been one of the Holy Grails of cinema, one of the greatest "What If?" movies of all time. The unmade film amassed several screenplays, a decade of research and thousands of set and location photos, all for naught. But now, over a decade after Kubrick's death, his 'Napoleon' may be made after all thanks to Steven Spielberg, who wants to bring the late master's epic vision to television.

We don't know much yet. In fact, all we know is what Spielberg said in an interview with Canal+:

"I've been developing Stanley Kubrick's screenplay, for a miniseries not for a motion picture, about the life of Napoleon. Kubrick wrote the script in 1961, a long time ago."

The fact that the interviewer didn't ask a follow-up question is downright maddening!

This wouldn't be the first time Spielberg resurrected a long-dead Kubrick idea. His 2001 film 'A.I.: Artificial Intelligence' was, once upon a time, being developed by Kubrick, who abandoned the idea after years of research (as he was wont to do). As different as they are as artists, it's tough to imagine a filmmaker more suited to finally realizing something that Kubrick couldn't than Spielberg, who remains one of Hollywood's greatest and most malleable storytellers.

Considering Spielberg's past with HBO (where he executive produced 'Band of Brothers' and 'The Pacific') it's easy to imagine 'Napoleon' being set up there and considering how epic Kubrick's original script it, it won't take too much work to split it into a miniseries. A Stanley Kubrick scripted historical miniseries produced by Steven Spielberg for HBO with a lead role that will demand an incredible actor? Although this thing has "Emmy!" written all over it, it also sounds like has the potential to be a major event for both film and television fans.