Though Megalopolis still doesn't have a distributor, the movie is expected to release before the end of the year, and we have a first official look at the sci-fi epic's main characters.
A lot of people were pleasantly surprised when Francis Ford Coppola's passion project came to fruition after the legendary filmmaker's previous failed attempts to get his vision off the ground, but the Godfather director announced that he had returned to the project back in 2019, and cameras started rolling in 2022.
Despite reports of some significant production issues, the movie wrapped late last year, and Vanity Fair has now shared the first official stills.
The images feature Star Wars actor Adam Driver as "an idealistic architect named Caesar, who hopes to rebuild the once great city, while Game of Thrones alum Emmanuel plays Julia Cicero, "the socialite daughter of a corrupt mayor (played by Giancarlo Esposito), and Driver’s character’s nemesis."
Plot details are still pretty vague, but we do know that Megalopolis will be a sci-fi drama about "a woman divided between loyalties to her father, who has a classical view of society, and her lover, who is more progressive and ready for the future."
"Ultimately, after a lot of time, I settled on the idea of a Roman epic," Coppola explains. "And then later, a Roman epic set in modern America, so I really only began writing this script, on and off, in the last dozen years or so. Also, as I have made many films of many different subjects and in many different styles, I hoped for a project later in life when I might better understand what my personal style was."
Though the movie has not been screened for critics, the reactions from an early insider screening were divisive. One viewer described the film as "unflinching in how batshit it is," noting that it has "zero commercial prospects," while another called it a mix of "Ayn Rand, Metropolis, and Caligula."
However, a more positive verdict stated: "Coppola's new film is crackling with ideas that fuse the past with the future, with an epic and highly visual fable that plays perfectly on an IMAX screen. He covers complex themes in a remarkably brief two hours and 13 minutes, not including credits."
Check out the images at the link below.
"An accident destroys a New York City-like metropolis already in decay. Caesar, an idealist, aims to rebuild the city as a sustainable utopia, while the venal mayor, Frank Cicero, has other plans. Coming between the opposing men and their visions is Frank’s socialite daughter, Julia. Tired of the attention and power she was born with, Julia searches for her life’s meaning."
Megalopolis also stars Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jason Schwartzman, Grace VanderWaal, Kathryn Hunter, Talia Shire, Dustin Hoffman, and D.B. Sweeney, and is set to premiere at the 77th Cannes Film Festival in May.