Almost 50 years later, Megalopolis is finally here. The epic sci-fi drama film's trailer was released on Aug. 21, marking the return of one of the most celebrated directors in Hollywood.
However, it's a project that has been coming for a very, very long time. Megalopolis, written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola , is a longtime passion project that's had quite the journey to produce. It takes place in a crumbling metropolis called New Rome.
The movie features a star-studded ensemble cast, including Adam Driver as Cesar Catilina, an ambitious architect who can control time. Giancarlo Esposito is Mayor Franklyn Cicero, Cesar's nemesis and the corrupt mayor of New Rome. Nathalie Emmanuel is Julia Cicero, Mayor Franklyn's aristocratic daughter, and Cesar's love interest.
Aubrey Plaza is Wow Platinum, a TV news personality who is in love with Cesar. Shia LaBeouf is Clodio Pulcher, Cesar's cousin who is also in love with Julia. And cinematic heavyweights Jon Voight, Talia Shire, Laurence Fishburne, and Dustin Hoffman are also part of the stacked cast.
The epic sci-fi drama metaphorically parallels the Catilinarian conspiracy of 63 BC, in which Lucius Sergius Catilina attempted to overthrow the Roman consuls Gaius Antonius Hybrida and Marcus Tullius Cicero. Coppola had the idea for this film in 1977 and began developing the script in the early '80s. The film was initially set to be filmed in 1989 but was shelved after Coppola prioritized other projects, such as Bram Stoker's Dra.