Francis Ford Coppola has finally revealed a glimpse of his decades-long passion project. The director has unveiled a first look and title treatment for Megalopolis, his upcoming sci-fi dystopian drama starring Adam Driver. While the film doesn’t have an official release date, Coppola has stated he intends for it to bow in 2024, and the fact that a first look at the movie, which was shared on Coppola‘s Instagram page, has been revealed is likely a good sign that this will occur.

The new image features a darkened look at what appears to be a dingy New York City alley on a rainy night. In the center of the alley, a large statue appears to have been destroyed and is propped up against a building. Few other details can be made out from the image, which features the title “Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis” across the front. The image appears in line with what little plot details have been given out by Coppola regarding his film.

The logline for Megalopolis states that the film follows an architect who wants to rebuild New York City as a utopia following a devastating disaster. The film will follow this architect as he goes up against the corrupt mayor of New York in an effort to see his transformation of the city realized. The director has said that the film will take inspiration from the historic conspiracy between Roman senator Lucius Sergius Catilina and Marcus Tullius Cicero, who became embroiled in a vicious and deadly plot. Driver will topline the film as the architect, unsurprisingly named Caesar. Forest Whitaker will play the mayor, Frank Cicero, while Nathalie Emmanuel plays his daughter, Julia Cicero. Additionally, the film stars an A-list ensemble of Jon Voight, Aubrey Plaza, Laurence Fishburne, Shia LaBeouf, Talia Shire, Jason Schwartzman, Chloe Fineman, Dustin Hoffman, Giancarlo Esposito, and more.

Francis Ford Coppola Has Been Working on ‘Megalopolis’ For Years

The history of Megalopolis goes back to the 1980s, when Coppola first began developing the project. Unable to ink a deal with a studio for the film, Coppola financed a large portion of Megalopolis himself, reportedly putting up $120 million of his own money, and finally got it off the ground in the late 2010s. Casting rumors permeated, with names such as Zendaya and Cate Blanchett circling, before Driver and others signed on in 2022. Filming began later that year and was bogged down by reports of a troubled production, though Driver and others vehemently denied this.

The project finally wrapped production in March 2023, with Coppola saying earlier this year he hoped for a 2024 release. Coppola directed Megalopolis from a self-written script. He is producing the film through his production company, American Zoetrope, alongside Michael Bederman.

An exact release date for Megalopolis has not been announced but the first look can be seen below. Stay tuned to Collider for updates.

via Collider