In Francis Ford Coppola’s upcoming epic “Megalopolis,” the United States of America and Ancient Rome have been combined in what the director calls a “Roman epic fable” about the end, or perhaps new beginning, of a society in utter chaos.
You can watch it above in the first trailer, which was released Monday night.
“Megalopolis” tells the story of The City of New Rome, where the need for change causes conflict between Cesar Catilina (Adam Driver), “a genius artist who seeks to leap into a utopian, idealistic future,” and the city’s mayor, Franklyn Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito), who is, per the official logline, “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.”
It’s an art deco-inspired retelling of the fall of the Roman Republic — with art and architecture in place of the conquest of Gaul — which probably means things won’t turn out well for Cesar, Cicero or Julia, or for the rest of the city, for that matter.
Alongside Driver, Esposito and Emmanuel, the film 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.
Written, directed and produced by Francis Ford Coppola, the film was produced by Fred Roos, Barry Hirsch and Michael Bederman, and executive produced by Anahid Nazarian, Barrie Osborne and Darren Demetre. “Megalopolis” will premiere in competition at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.
