Francis Ford Coppola Teases Release Window for Upcoming Science Fiction Epic ‘Megalopolis’
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In an interview on The Accutron Show, Francis Ford Coppola seemingly confirmed that his latest film and long-time passion project, Megalopolis, is set to be released in 2024. According to Coppola:
It’s only going to be a few months and it’ll be out. All I can say is I love the actors in it. It’s unusual, and it’s never boring. Other than that, wait and see.
The film has a star-studded cast, featuring Adam Driver, Forest Whitaker, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Chloe Fineman, Kathryn Hunter, and Dustin Hoffman, with DB Sweeney, Talia Shire, Jason Schwartzman, Bailey Ives, Grace Vanderwaal, James Remar, and Giancarlo Esposito.
The project has been envisioned by Coppola since the 1980s when he first conceived of the idea, with the director spending years accruing a workable budget for the film with his other projects. However, the movie’s large budget requirements and Coppola’s unease about making Megalopolis in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks were a continuous barrier. But after years of delays the film finally entered production, with the film shoot beginning in November 2022.
There have been rumours of controversy surrounding the film’s production and its budget, including claims that Coppola’s upcoming film far exceeded the $120 million it was originally slated to be produced for. There have also been rumours circling that key members of the movie’s production team were replaced during filming. However, Coppola and the film’s lead, Adam Driver, have poured cold water over these news, with Driver stating that his experience on the set of Megalopolis proving to be an exceptional standard for him for how movies should be made.
In an interview with Deadline in May 2023, the acclaimed director of Apocalypse Now, The Godfather, and The Conversation discussed his intentions behind making Megalopolis:
I recognized that, at my age, I didn’t have people to run all these businesses that I not only had started but was running […] In the course of that, I realized I had created a holding of value in that company, which I could go and turn into money and make the movie I wanted to make.
So I won the bet. But I am grateful to be in the position to be able to make a film that haunts me and that I feel will be wonderful, that will shed light on the subject of what the future might be like and what human beings are really like. I am as happy as I could be.
