Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather), one of Hollywood’s most acclaimed directors, is behind the most anticipated science fiction and drama title of the year, which will feature a star-studded cast: Megalopolis.
Adam Driver and Nathalie Emmanuel are just a few of the A-list stars who will bring the main characters to life in this intriguing story about an architect who wants to rebuild New York City as a utopia after a devastating disaster.
The movie will make its grand debut in theaters during 2024 and will undoubtedly be a special achievement for the filmmaker, as it took him 40 years to bring the project to fruition, with a budget of $100 million.
When will Megalopolis be released in theaters?
Before it hits theaters, Megalopolis had its anticipated premiere at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, where it received mixed reviews from critics. However, the film will have its wide release in the US on September 27, being distributed by Lionsgate.
The film was selected to compete for the Palme d’Or at the festival, and not only will members of the production team gather there, but all the main actors will also be present, like Giancarlo Esposito and Shia LaBeouf.
The story portrays how an accident destroys a metropolis resembling New York City that is already in decline, and Cesar, an idealist, aims to rebuild the city as a sustainable utopia, while the corrupt mayor, Frank Cicero, has other plans.
Caught between these opposing men and their visions is Julia, Frank’s socialite daughter, who, weary of the attention and power she was born into, seeks the meaning of her life…
‘Megalopolis’ took 40 years to materialize
Megalopolis is one of the many projects that has been in development for a long time, as Francis Ford Coppola began working on it in November 2022, four decades after the filmmaker started working on its screenplay.
The iconic director began writing the story in 1980 as a “passion project”. His desire to bring this narrative to life was so strong that he used to talk about it during the filming of other movies.
Rob Lowe (Youngblood and St. Elmo’s Fire) confessed some time ago that the filmmaker discussed it while they were filming The Outsiders in 1982, so Megalopolis has been his dream all along.
During an interview in May 2007, Coppola spoke about this and confirmed that his agreements and contracts to direct Dracula (1992), Jack (1996) and The Rainmaker (1997) were with the purpose of financing this film.