‘Megalopolis’ Teaser Trailer: Adam Driver Stars In Francis Ford Coppola’s Roman Epic

The legendary director of “The Godfather” trilogy and “Apocalypse Now” self-funded the $120 million movie.

(Megalopolis Trailer/American Zoetrope/YouTube)

The teaser trailer for Francis Ford Coppola’s long-gestating passion project, Megalopolis, is finally here ahead of its premiere at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.

The legendary director of The Godfather trilogy and Apocalypse Now famously self-funded the $120 million Roman epic—which he also wrote and produced—that’s headlined by Adam Driver and co-stars Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Talia Shire, Jason Schwartzman, Chloe Fineman and Dustin Hoffman.

Check out the film’s official plot synopsis here:

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.

American Zoetrope

Coppola told Vanity Fair that he rewrote the script more than “300 times” across several decades.

“Early on, I remember once I took 130 blank pages and put on a title page boldly announcing Francis ‘Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis,’ and under that, ‘All Roads Lead to Rome,’” Coppola said. “I pretended it wasn’t totally blank, weighing it in my hands so I could imagine what one day it would feel like, and believe one day it could exist. Then later, once I had a draft, I must have rewritten it 300 times, hoping each rewrite would improve it, if only a half percent better.”

Watch the first official teaser trailer above.

Mentioned in this article: