Megalopolis Unleashes Astonishing Trailer Unlike Anything We’ve Seen Before

By Jacob VanGundy
| Published 10 seconds ago

Megalopolis released its latest trailer today, and it’s full of stunning visual effects and familiar faces, alongside a tongue-in-cheek marketing strategy. The trailer gave audiences a better look into the sci-fi world created by legendary director Francis Ford Coppola. While the trailer is impressive, the film divided critics at the Cannes Film Festival, a fact that the trailer plays off of. 

Before showing off Megalopolis, the trailer gives a unique perspective on Francis Ford Coppola’s filmography. It begins with the title card for The Godfather, Coppola’s most well-regarded movie, with a snippet of a negative review superimposed, before cycling through his most well-known movies in the same style.

Megalopolis hits theaters on September 27.

It’s an interesting marketing strategy, essentially telling audiences to ignore negative reviews and trust the director. 

The footage of Megalopolis that follows makes a convincing argument that audiences should give the movie a chance. While little of the plot is revealed, the trailer does a great job of establishing the world of the movie and its striking visual style.

Shots involving time manipulation, a meteor storm, and a giant statue on the side of a street all give the impression that the movie will be a visual feast if nothing else. 

The trailer also shows off Megalopolis’s incredible cast. The movie stars Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburn, Jason Schwartzman, Talia Shire, Grace Vanderwaal, Kathryn Hunter, and Dustin Hoffman. With such a talented cast working with one of Hollywood’s most iconic directors, the movie has a lot going for it. 

While some critics thought the movie was a confusing mess, others declared it a masterpiece, making it even more apparent that there is no critical consensus on the film. 

Megalopolis is set in an alternate version of Earth in a city called New Rome, which has been devastated by a disaster. Adam Driver plays Ceasar Catalina, an architect who can manipulate time and wants to rebuild New Rome as a utopia, putting him in conflict with the corrupt mayor played by Giancarlo Esposito.

That conflict is further complicated by a romance between Ceasar and the mayor’s daughter Julia, played by Nathalie Emmanuel. 

The mixed response from critics at the Cannes Film Festival has put Megalopolis in a rough spot, creating the need for its blunt marketing campaign. On Rotten Tomatoes, the movie currently has a 53 percent among critics, which shows how divisive it was at the festival.

Megalopolis is shaping up to be a controversial film and its trailer’s mix of defensive posturing and grand visuals only adds fuel to that fire.

While some critics thought the movie was a confusing mess, others declared it a masterpiece, making it even more apparent that there is no critical consensus on the film. 

Further complicating the reception of Megalopolis are the widespread reports of on-set problems during the film’s production. Many cast and crew members talked about the chaotic shoot due to Coppola’s sporadic behavior, which some called unprofessional.

Worse, Coppola has been accused of sexual misconduct with multiple extras on set and creating an unsafe environment due to the lack of any HR department or intimacy coordinators. 

Megalopolis is shaping up to be a controversial film and its trailer’s mix of defensive posturing and grand visuals only adds fuel to that fire. It will be interesting to see how the general public reacts to a movie that was so divisive among critics. The world will find out if it’s Coppola’s masterpiece or a confusing mess when it comes to theaters on September 27th.