Francis Ford Coppola’s self-funded passion project Megalopolis has landed an all-star cast. Adam Driver, Forest Whitaker, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jon Voight, and Laurence Fishburne have all signed on for the upcoming movie.
Fishburne will be reuniting with Coppola on the film for the first time since Apocalypse Now, which was his first major on-screen role. The new casting news comes after Moon Knight star Oscar Isaac reportedly pulled out of the project after being eyed for the lead.
The movie, which is more than 20 years in the making, is independently financed and features Coppola’s own script. The ambitious movie has been estimated to cost just under $100 million and the legendary director has been fundraising for the project.
The movie’s logline teases: "The fate of Rome haunts a modern world unable to solve its own social problems in this epic story of political ambition, genius, and conflicted love." Another synopsis, per Collider, describes it focusing on the "struggle to create a utopia after an accident leaves a New York-like city in need of a rebuild."
Speaking to Deadline, Coppola previously opened up on the risk of self-financing. He said: "What’s the worst that can happen to me? I’m going to die and be broke? I’m not going to be broke. My kids are all successful." He added: "I’m confident that if you can make a film that people can keep getting something out of for 10, 20, or more years, you will not lose money."
