Megalopolis: Everything we know about Francis Ford Coppola’s new film

By now, you might have seen a clip of Adam Driver leaning outward off a skyscraper, in defiance of the laws of physics, or heard tales about Francis Ford Coppola selling his winery to raise funds for his new feature, in defiance of his children’s inheritance and the Hollywood system, but how much do you really know about Megalopolis?

Since the film’s first teaser trailer was released back in May, new details have emerged at a steady rate, with the film’s 40-year history rivalling its titular city in scope and scale. In the run-up to the film’s release next month, we’ve gathered everything you need to know.

Adam Driver plays Cesar Catilina, a visionary architect who also has the power to stop time. He has a dream to demolish swathes of the city for his Elysian pet project, Megalopolis, but mayor Franklyn Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito) opposes his plans, demanding more realistic needs are met, like schools, hospitals, and a living wage. 

This sets the stage for a Romeo-and-Juliet-style love story between Catilina and Cicero’s daughter (played by Nathalie Emmanuel) alongside the scheming of shady figures like banker Hamilton Crassus III and Wow Platinum, a TV presenter played by Aubrey Plaza. Ultimately, it’s a story about utopian dreaming amid the imminent collapse of a city-slash empire that’s crumbling under the weight of its own dark secrets. Sound familiar?

In case the characters’ very unsubtle names didn’t tip you off already, the Roman Empire is Francis Ford Coppola’s… well, Roman Empire. For one, Catalina spends a lot of his time getting wasted at bacchanalian parties, and the plot itself is apparently based on ancient Roman political feuds. Despite being a near-facsimile of New York, the city’s aesthetic sensibilities also veer toward classical antiquity (think: chariot races, gold breastplates, laurel leaves, and architecture you’d see trad X accounts drooling over) in-keeping with the themes of excess and decline. And, in case you missed the references, it’s literally called New Rome.

Some eyebrows were raised when it came to the Megalopolis cast reveal, featuring names like Shia LaBeouf, Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight. In case you’re unfamiliar, the 85-year-old Voight has been an outspoken supporter of Donald Trump’s presidency (and plays a similar role as Hamilton Crassus III) and recently denounced his daughter, Angelina Jolie, for campaigning in favour of Palestinian people’s human rights. 

LaBeouf was accused of sexual assault by FKA twigs in 2021 and faced allegations of abusing another ex-girlfriend, though he denies the allegations. Seven women also accused Hoffman of sexual misconduct or assault in 2017 – he also denies all wrongdoing.

“What I didn’t want to happen is that we’re deemed some woke Hollywood production that’s simply lecturing viewers. The cast features people who were cancelled at one point or another,” Coppola said of the controversial choice to cast Voight, in a recent Rolling Stone interview. “There were people who are archconservatives and others who are extremely politically progressive. But we were all working on one film together. That was interesting, I thought.” Interesting is one word for it.

Not content to assemble an all-star team of allegedly-awful people, Coppola has also been accused of misconduct on the Megalopolis set, including kissing and touching scantily-clad female extras. In the Rolling Stone interview, he described these accusations as “totally untrue”, suggesting that the sources were simply “trying to damage the picture” ahead of its Cannes premiere.

Putting all of the controversies aside, the critical response to Megalopolis has been a mixed bag. By various outlets, the films has been called “a work of absolute madness”, “bloated, boring, and bafflingly shallow”, and “staggeringly ambitious”. In a weird turn of events, Lionsgate also released a trailer with a host of fake historical reviews of Coppola’s work, from the likes of Roger Ebert and Pauline Kael, before realising what they’d done and pulling the preview.

Regardless of what the critics think, Coppola – down $120 million in budget costs – is presumably hoping for a big-hitter at the box office when the film premieres to the public on September 27.