“Megalopolis,” directed by Francis Ford Coppola, will make its Cannes competition debut

According to a person familiar with the project, Francis Ford Coppola’s passion project “Megalopolis” will formally debut in competition at the Cannes Film Festival. On May 17, there will be a gala screening of the movie.

Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Shia LaBeouf, Talia Shire, Coppola’s sister, Jason Schwartzman (Shire’s son), Chloe Fineman, Kathryn Hunter, Dustin Hoffman, D.B. Sweeney, Baily Ives, Grace VanderWaal, and James Remar are among the star-studded cast members of “Megalopolis.”

Having invested more than $100 million of his personal funds in the picture, Coppola, who penned the screenplay in the 1980s, has finally brought the idea to life.

Last week, Cannes Film Festival director Thierry Frémaux urged Coppola to bring his latest film to the Croisette after Coppola screened Apocalypse Now in the festival’s first year in 1995. He told Variety that he had requested it.

“‘Megalopolis’ is a project that he wanted to achieve for so long and he did it independently, in his own way, as an artist,” Fremaux said. “He built the legend of the Cannes Film Festival and it would be an honor to welcome him back, as a filmmaker who comes to present his new film.”

Production on “Megalopolis” came to an end last year, and on March 28 it made its premiere at the Universal CityWalk IMAX Theater in Los Angeles, in front of a star-studded audience that included distributors, buyers, and studio executives.

The official logline for the movie is, “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.” Coppola frequently referred to the movie as an indescribable enigma, despite the fact that plot specifics are still unknown. According to reports, the drama takes place in “New Rome,” an alternate reality version of New York City.

Coppola clarified in September how Rome served as the inspiration for “Megalopolis,” posting on Instagram, “How often do I think of Ancient Rome? Quite a lot, as the Roman Republic served as the example for my country America and its institutions, and was the inspiration for my upcoming film ‘Megalopolis.”

Coppola continued, “My fascination with the Roman Republic is based on the struggle between the political parties during which the interest of the Republic yielded to the ambitions of a few powerful men who espoused the aims of political parties to establish their own fortunes and authority by relying upon armed forces to achieve those ends, dealing the final blow to a constitution already tottering to its fall.”

On Thursday, the complete Cannes lineup is expected to be unveiled. Notable films making their premieres outside of competition are “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” by George Miller, “Horizon: An American Saga” by Kevin Costner, and Quentin Dupieux’s opening film, “The Second Act,” which stars Léa Seydoux and Vincent Lindon.