The Megalopolis Trailer’s Major Adam Driver Twist Makes Me Way More Excited For The $120M Sci-Fi Movie

The first teaser trailer for Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis is out, building anticipation for the $120 million budget sci-fi movie. After years of development issues, Megalopolis is finally complete, and the 85-year-old filmmaker’s work will premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in 2024. Francis Ford Coppola is known as the director of some of the best movies of all time, including The Godfather Parts 1 and 2 and Apocalypse Now. Though he’s spent years away from filmmaking, his return for Megalopolis is one of his most exciting and ambitious projects in decades.

After the shaky development, Megalopolis’s next obstacle is distribution, as the film has thus far struggled to find a company to market and bring the film to theaters. Francis Ford Coppola released the first teaser trailer for the movie on his brand new, personal YouTube channel, offering a glimpse at the movie’s stunning visuals and Adam Driver’s character, Cesar. Much of Coppola’s career has been defined by his do-it-yourself, renegade filmmaking methods, and making his own YouTube page to post a trailer, which is consistent with the famous hustle that went into movies like The Godfather.

The Megalopolis Trailer Reveals Adam Driver’s Cesar Can Stop Time

Adam Driver’s Cesar Will Be The Film’s Lead, And He Appears To Be Discovering Time Control Powers

The Megalopolis teaser shows Adam Driver’s Cesar Catilina, who’s described as a genius artist hoping to lead the City of New Rome into a utopian future. Plot details have revealed that Giancarlo Esposito will play the antagonist, Cicero, who desires to maintain societal norms. While there seemed to be some elements of dystopian sci-fi in the story, the exact nature of Megalopolis’s science fiction has been unclear, with the teaser revealing for the first time that Cesar will have some sort of ability to stop time.

In the snip-bit, Cesar stands on the ledge of a massive skyscraper drop, lowing down below at bustling city streets. He leans himself over as if he’s about to fall, then, as he loses balance, yells out, “Time! Stop!” This prevents his fall, seemingly to his surprise, and he leans back, tilting himself back to stability. His command even halts the clouds, which were previously moving at a rapid pace. He snaps, and then time resumes, causing the city below to carry on. The shocking twist of Cesar having powers adds tremendous excitement to Megalopolis that no one saw coming.

Why Megalopolis’ Powers Reveal Makes The Sci-Fi Movie More Exciting

Sci-Fi Elements Could Help Megalopolis Get Distributed

Characters with powers aren’t often elements of Francis Ford Coppola’s films, but they add some excitement, and leaning into sci-fi elements will likely help with the movie’s marketing. While it’s unclear what the nature of Cesar’s abilities is and how the strange, off-beat world of Megalopolis will play out, the teaser offered just enough to pique audience interest, demonstrating that Francis Coppola’s new movie is going to be something special. Hopefully, Megalopolis will be his next masterpiece.