Francis Ford Coppola’sMegalopolisfeatures a 23-year actor-director reunion that most audiences wouldn’t know about. Throughout his five-decade career, Coppola is most commonly associated with actors like Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, and Talia Shire, who all appeared in his famousGodfathertrilogy, among other projects. Aside from Shire, thecast ofMegalopolisfeatures primarily younger movie stars who are new to working with Coppola, from Adam Driver to Aubrey Plazato Nathalie Emmanuel.
Megalopolisstars Adam Driver as Cesar Catalina, a futuristic architect who learns to harness amysterious power called Megalonto build a utopian city. The city’s mayor, Frank Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito), resists Catalina’s ideas, making him the film’s main antagonist. Giancarlo Esposito is a veteran actor best known for his role as Gus Fring inBreaking BadandBetter Call Saul, which granted him widespread recognition decades into his career. He’s since found success with supporting roles in major movies and TV shows, includingThe Boys,The Mandalorian, and more.
Laurence Fishburne is another one of theMegalopolisactors who’s worked with Coppola before, having appeared inApocalypse Nowin 1979.
Giancarlo Esposito Has Been Linked To Megalopolis Since 2001
Megalopolishas been a passion project of Coppola’s for decades after initially attempting to get the project off the ground followingApocalypse Now’srelease in 1979. He attempted to develop the film further on multiple occasions, even bringing some movie star actors together for a table read in 2001. This includedGiancarlo Esposito, who’d previously appeared in Coppola’sThe Cotton Clubas a young actor all the way back in 1984. The 2001 script seems to be rather different from what ultimately ended up in the final movie.
What Megalopolis Means For Francis Ford Coppola’s Career & Future Movies
Francis Ford Coppola made the movie he wanted to make with Megalopolis — but its box office failure means it’ll be a lot tougher to make his next one.
Apparently, Coppola had a plan in mind to developMegalopoliswith an entirely different cast in 2001, but the idea was obstructed due to September 11th. Coppola didn’t want to make a film about a utopian city after what had occurred in New York and returned to it in 2007, where he struggled to find funding. It’s unclear what stage the script was at during this time or if Esposito was still linked to the project, buthe’s the only person from the 2001 table read to make it into the final cut of the film.
Giancarlo Esposito Is The Only Actor From Megalopolis' Table Reads To Be In The Final Movie
Compared to the rest of the 2001Megalopolistable read, Giancarlo Esposito was a lesser-known name. He’d done some outstanding films beforeBreaking Bad, but he was far from being as famous as he is today. However, Coppola did have some big-name movie actors involved at the time,including Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio, Uma Thurman, James Gandolfini, and Russell Crowe. It’s hard to say if this version ofMegalopoliswould have worked better, but it’s fascinating to think about what it would look like.
Megalopolis
Megalopolis, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, is a visionary 2024 film exploring the ambitious dream of reconstructing New York City into a utopia, following a devastating disaster. The narrative delves into the clash between the architect’s utopian vision and the political and personal turmoil that ensues. With a star-studded cast, the film examines themes of ambition, power, and the human spirit’s resilience against the backdrop of a futuristic metropolis.
