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Everything we know about Francis Ford Coppola's passion project Megalopolis
It's taken over 40 years to get here.
Apocalypse Now director Francis Ford Coppola has an epic sci-fi coming to cinemas at the end of this summer, titled Megalopolis.
Completely funded by Coppola via his production company American Zoetrope - the budget came to $120 million - the first embers of Megalopolis date back to the late 1970s, with the filmmaker looking to transport the fall of Rome to a futuristic New York City.
Shooting was initially scheduled to take place in Rome itself in 1989, but this was postponed and nothing was heard about the project again until 2001. Due to similarities in the script though, 9/11 effectively stopped Megalopolis in its tracks before Coppola decided to revisit and refine the story 18 years later.
The cast for Megalopolis was finalised in 2021, with cameras eventually rolling between November 2022 and March 2023, yet ahead of its Cannes Film Festival premiere this year, Coppola was alleged to have tried to "kiss some of the topless and scantily-clad female extras" on set. The director responded during an interview with The New York Times, claiming he's "not touchy-feely" and "too shy" for any of the behavioural reports to be accurate.
Despite the controversy, Lionsgate Films ultimately signed up to distribute Megalopolis and it now sits on a 53% Rotten Tomatoes score.
When will Megalopolis be released?
Coppola's new movie is set to premiere in cinemas on 27 September this year, four months after competing for the Palme d'Or at Cannes.
Is there a trailer out yet?
Yes. A teaser trailer for Megalopolis is now available to watch online, beginning with what appears to be meteorites destined for the Big Apple.
"When does an empire die? Does it collapse in one terrible moment? No, no, but there comes a time when its people no longer believe in it," muses Laurence Fishburne's narrator Fundi Romaine as strange and apocalyptic snippets flash by.
We get several glimpses of Adam Driver's sad-looking architect Cesar Catilina, as well as statues coming to life; a nightclub scene, chariots at a grand circus, an arm-shaped cloud reaching for the moon and some cool cityscapes. This one feels like a true big-screen experience.
What will happen in the movie?
The official Megalopolis synopsis reads: "An accident destroys a decaying metropolis called New Rome. Cesar Catilina, an idealist architect with the power to control time, aims to rebuild it as a sustainable utopia, while his opposition, corrupt Mayor Franklyn Cicero, remains committed to a regressive status quo.
"Torn between them is Franklyn's socialite daughter and Cesar's love interest, Julia, who, tired of the influence she inherited, searches for her life's meaning."
Who's in the cast?
Alongside Star Wars actor Driver, whose character can stop time, the suitably massive Megalopolis cast features Breaking Bad's Giancarlo Esposito, who plays the "arch-conservative" Franklyn.
Game of Thrones favourite Nathalie Emmanuel is the mayor's daughter and Cesar's love interest Julia, while The White Lotus' Aubrey Plaza is the TV presenter Wow Platinum. Quite the name, right?
As mentioned before we also have The Matrix's Fishburne in the mix, plus Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Talia Shire, Jason Schwartzman, Andor's Kathryn Hunter, Dustin Hoffman and Dexter star James Remar.
Megalopolis is due out in cinemas on 27 September.
