The celebrated filmmaker who has given the world Mario Puzo’s ‘The Godfather’ and Joseph Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness’ in the form of the eponymous film and ‘Apocalypse Now’ has released the first look of his passion project ‘Megalopolis.’

Developed over four decades, Coppola’s brainchild’s teaser shows Adam Driver engaging in a death-defying act as he stops time within the sepia-tinted frame of our screens. The film is going to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival and will be in the run for the prestigious Palme d’Or which is the festival’s highest award.

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The ambitious film stands on the said premise of building an American Utopia of the ruins caused by catastrophic destruction. The torchbearer for the new construction is said to be Driver’s character who is an idealist architect with the power to stop time.

He’ll be faced with the corrupt mayor, played by Giancarlo Esposito who wants to maintain the status quo. Between the tussle is the mayor’s daughter, brought to life by Nathalie Emmanuel. The ensemble cast also includes Aubrey Plaza, Shea LaBeouf, and Jon Voight among others.

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In a statement to Vanity Fair, Coppola wrote, “Early on, I remember once I took 130 blank pages and put on a title page boldly announcing Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis, and under that, All Roads Lead to Rome. I pretended it wasn’t totally blank, weighing it in my hands so I could imagine what one day it would feel like, and believe one day it could exist. Then later, once I had a draft, I must have rewritten it 300 times, hoping each rewrite would improve it, if only a half percent better.”

The project has been moulded by drawing inspirations from H.G. Wells’ ‘Things to Come,’ The Second Catiline Conspiracy, the 9/11 attacks, and everything Coppola had ever read or learnt about, as per the statement. Drawing inspiration from the Roman Empire and its subsequent fall, Coppola transfusesthe idea to modern-day America, bringing to life his anticipated film after his last project in 2011.

The piece of cinematic art will be drawing inspiration from the CatilineConspiracy which was an attempted coup formed by Roman Senator Lucius Sergius Catiline along with some malcontents to overthrow the 63 BC Roman consuls Marcus Tullius Cicero and Gaius Antonius Hybrida, and forcibly gain control of the state in their stead.

During the said time, Rome was in a state of crisis with several challenges demanding resolution. Catiline planned to build a new society,free of previous burdens, however, the scheme was exposed and trampled upon. Coppola’s ‘Megalopolis’ can be assumed to imagine the conspiracy in modern-day America.

Talking about his fascination with H.G. Wells’story, in the aforementioned statement, Coppola said, “The seeds for Megalopolis were planted when as a kid I saw H.G. Wells’s Things to Come,” Coppola says. “This 1930s Korda classic is about building the world of tomorrow, and has always been with me, first as the ‘boy scientist’ I was and later as a filmmaker.”

Coppola’s expansive visionary landscape has been self-financed by him using $120 million. It is anticipated that his latest cinematic experience which is expected to be a true visual display of his imagination and creative brilliance will soon be in theatres near us.