Francis Ford Coppola has called Megalopolis “the best work I’ve ever had the privilege to preside over.” The recently released trailer gives us a taste of the film, which looks like a trippy, surreal musing on what makes a civilized society, what it takes to uplift it—or have it all come crashing down.
Here’s the synopsis:
Megalopolis is a Roman Epic fable set in an imagined Modern America. The City of New Rome must change, causing conflict between Cesar Catilina (Adam Driver), a genius artist who seeks to leap into a utopian, idealistic future, and his opposition, Mayor Franklyn Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito), who remains committed to a regressive status quo, perpetuating greed, special interests, and partisan warfare. Torn between them is socialite Julia Cicero (Nathalie Emmanuel), the mayor’s daughter, whose love for Cesar has divided her loyalties, forcing her to discover what she truly believes humanity deserves.
In addition to Driver, Esposito, and Emmanuel, Megalopolis stars Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Talia Shire, Jason Schwartzman, Kathryn Hunter, Grace VanderWaal, Chloe Fineman, James Remar, D.B. Sweeney, and Dustin Hoffman. It is written, directed, and produced(!) by Coppola, and also produced by Fred Roos, Barry Hirsch, and Michael Bederman. Anahid Nazarian, Barrie Osborne, and Darren Demetre serve as executive producers.
The movie will make its theatrical debut at this year’s Cannes Film Festival on May 16, 2024. No news yet on when exactly it will make it to theaters so normies like us can watch it, but it should be sometime in 2024.
While we wait, check out the trailer for Megalopolis below.