Francis Ford Coppola has unveiled the first teaser for his upcoming sci-fi film Megalopolis, dedicating the release to his late wife Eleanor.
In a post made to Instagram, Coppola celebrated his wife’s birthday while introducing the world of Megalopolis. Eleanor was a documentary filmmaker and mother to Sofia, Roman, and Gian-Carlo, and died this year on April 12 at the age of 87.
“Megalopolis has always been a film dedicated to my dear wife Eleanor,” Coppola wrote in the caption on the post. “I really had hoped to celebrate her birthday together this May 4th. But sadly that was not to be, so let me share with everyone a gift on her behalf.”
In the teaser, a man hoping to rebuild a New York City-like metropolis named Cesar (Adam Driver) somehow warps time. Wandering around the top of a building, Cesar leans over the edge, about to fall off the side.
“Time stop!” he shouts. Everything—the yellow cabs soaring around beneath him, the clouds in the sky, the rumble of the city—halts. At the snap of Cesar’s finger, the world starts moving again. As the teaser comes to a close, we hear the gentle ticking of a clock echoing through the background.
Megalopolis has been in the works since 1979, when Coppola began developing the project. It faced significant delays until 2019. Coppola self-financed the film’s $120 million budget, shooting from 2022 to 2023.
After reports that Megalopolis would struggle to find a distributor, Coppola told The Daily Beast he’s not worried about the success of his film. “This is what happened with Apocalypse Now 40 years ago,” the director said in a statement sent via an editorial apprentice during a break from the film’s ongoing post-production process.
“There were very contradicting views expressed, but the audience never stopped going to see the film, and to this day Apocalypse Now is still in very profitable distribution,” Coppola added. “I am sure this will be the same situation with Megalopolis. It will stand the test of time.”
Also starring Nathalie Emannuel, Giancarlo Esposito, Aubrey Plaza, and Shia LaBeouf, Megalopolis will have its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on May 17.
