The first trailer for Francis Ford Coppola's Megalopolis is here, offering viewers a closer look at the filmmaker's "best work ever."
The time-stopping teaser pulls back the curtain on the Roman epic fable set in an imagined Modern America following a devastating disaster. It cycles through a carousel of clips showing powerful scenes of destruction and decay as the city crumbles, contrasted with the ornate decadent displays of a fantasy future.
"Our new film Megalopolis is the best work I've ever had the privilege to preside over," reads a quote in the description box of the trailer, posted on the official Francis Ford Coppola YouTube account.
According to the official synopsis, "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."
Joining those three key players on the cast are Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Talia Shire, Jason Schwartzman, Kathryn Hunter, Grace VanderWaal, Chloe Fineman, James Remar, D.B. Sweeney, Dustin Hoffman, and Laurence Fishburne, whose voice is heard at the start of the trailer, asking, "When does an empire die?"
Coppola began writing Megalopolis in 1983, but the picture has faced numerous delays and setbacks in the decades since. Cameras eventually started rolling in 2022, but halfway through shooting, reports surfaced about issues brewing on set due to a crew exodus and the $120 million self-financed budget ballooning.
The film did, however, make it across the finish line and will finally have its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on May 17.
Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on X/Twitter @AdeleAnkers.
