Francis Ford Coppola shared a new Megalopolis teaser on May 14, 2024, two days before the film’s world premiere at Cannes. The clip sets Adam Driver’s Cesar Catilina against disaster in New Rome and a society losing faith in its empire. Coppola called the film “the best work I’ve ever had the privilege to preside over” in his post, as reported by ABC News.
What happens in the May 14 teaser?
The teaser opens on a calamity above New Rome, an imagined city resembling New York, as meteor-like streaks fall toward it. A voice asks: “When does an empire die? Does it collapse in one terrible moment? No, no. But there comes a time when people no longer believe in it.”
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Driver’s Cesar Catilina urges, “Don’t let the now destroy the forever,” then questions whether the society people inhabit is the only one available. The imagery and lines introduce the film’s central tension: Cesar dreams of a utopia, while Mayor Franklyn Cicero remains committed to the status quo. That premise comes from the film’s official synopsis, summarized in ABC’s report.
How it differs from Coppola’s earlier teaser
Coppola had shared a different clip on May 6. In that teaser, Cesar stands on a skyscraper ledge, calls “Time stop!”, and appears to pause traffic and his own movement before returning to the roof as time resumes. Coppola accompanied that post with a dedication to his wife, Eleanor, writing that Megalopolis had always been a film dedicated to her. ABC’s May 6 report covers that earlier clip.
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The distinction matters: the May 14 post carried Coppola’s statement that this was his best work; the May 6 post included the dedication to Eleanor. The two posts promoted the same film but featured different teaser footage and messages.
What Coppola said about the film
In his May 14 Instagram post, as reported by ABC, Coppola wrote: “Our new film @megalopolisfilm is the best work I’ve ever had the privilege to preside over.” That is his own assessment, not a line spoken in the teaser.
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At Cannes later that month, Coppola described the project’s artistic impulse to the Associated Press: “When we leap into the unknown, we prove that we’re free.” He connected the thought to making the film after pursuing the project for decades. AP also described Cesar as an inventor seeking to build a new metropolis with a material he created, Megalon. These are remarks from a Cannes interview, separate from the teaser’s dialogue. Read the Associated Press report.
What is Megalopolis about?
The film’s official site describes Megalopolis as a Roman epic set in an imagined modern America. Its conflict pits Cesar Catilina, played by Driver, against Mayor Franklyn Cicero; the cast includes Driver and an ensemble of other performers. The site also provides the official trailer and a where-to-watch destination: Megalopolis official site.
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A later trailer controversy was a separate event
In August 2024, Lionsgate recalled a different, later Megalopolis trailer after it used fabricated quotations attributed to film critics. The recall did not concern Coppola’s May teaser. Lionsgate apologized for the vetting error, saying, “We screwed up,” according to ABC News. The Guardian also reported on the withdrawal and false attributions: The Guardian’s report.
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