The latest big name to join the cast of Megalopolis, the big-budget movie in the works from legendary director Francis Ford Coppola, is recent Critics’ Choice Award winner Giancarlo Esposito. Coming off fresh off his award win for playing Gus Fring in Better Call Saul, Deadline reports that the actor has officially boarded the cast of Megalopolis. Coppola also says that the film, which is currently in production in Atlanta and New York, is on schedule and going well, despite recent reports that the project was in turmoil.
This would mark just the latest role for Esposito, who has been in high-demand in recent years. He just recently wrapped up his run as Gus Fring on Better Call Saul after previously playing that character in Breaking Bad. The actor has also been seen in The Boys on Prime Video and The Mandalorian on Disney+ in recent years, and he has teased returning to both of those shows in upcoming seasons. Esposito can also be seen starring in Netflix’s Kaleidoscope and EPIX’s Godfather of Harlem, and he will appear in Netflix’s The Gentlemen series as well as the streamer’s upcoming film The Electric State.
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Coppola wrote the script and his directing the movie, which could end up serving as his final feature film. It is set in New York and follows a woman divided between loyalties to her father and her lover, with each of them having very different views of society. There’s not much else that’s been revealed about the plot, but to bring the story to life, Coppola has assembled some of Hollywood’s most popular names, though the director says he’s managed to keep the budget under $100 million.
Francis Ford Coppola Assembles A-Listers for Megalopolis
A variety of names have already been announced for the cast of Megalopolis. It was previously revealed that the film will star names like Adam Driver, Nathalie Emmanuel, Laurence Fishburne, Forest Whitaker, Jon Voight, Dustin Hoffman, Shia LeBeouf, DB Sweeney, Talia Shire, Jason Schwartzman, Bailey Ives, Grace Vanderwaal, Chloe Fineman, Kathryn Hunter, James Remar, and recent SNL guest host Aubrey Plaza.
“For a really long time, I’ve been manifesting [the idea that I want] to work with a brilliant director," Plaza recently recalled of joining the movie’s cast. “Who [could] be more brilliant than Francis Ford Coppola, one of the greatest living directors? It’s really hard to get parts in movies where you’re working with directors that have made a lot of films.”
She added, “I don’t regret anything I’ve done. I love working with first-time directors; I’ll never stop doing that, because I love it so much. But there’s been a part of me for a while that’s like, I really want to work with a really seasoned director. I would say Francis Ford Coppola—that guy is seasoned.”
Megalopolis does not yet have a set release date.
