Francis Ford Coppola releases first still of Cannes-bound 'Megalopolis'

Los Angeles: Master filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola has shared the first official image of his highly anticipated film Megalopolis, set to premiere at the 77th Cannes Film Festival.

Megalopolis is set in a futuristic city much like the Roman Empire and follows an architect named Caesar, played by Adam Driver, who wants to rebuild New York City as a utopia following a devastating disaster.

In the first still from the sci-fi epic film, Driver's Caesar can be seen studying plans to rebuild the City of New Rome, while Julia Cicero (Nathalie Emmanuel), the socialite daughter of Mayor Cicero, looks on.

Coppola, known for The Godfather franchise, The Conversation, and Apocalypse Now, shared the image on his official Instagram page on Tuesday.

"This is the first official image of @megalopolisfilm to be released publicly. It brings me joy to share a glimpse of what is to come..." he captioned the post.

The movie, Coppola's long-term passion project and self-funded feature, will screen in the Competition segment in Cannes on May 17 in a gala premiere at the annual festival.

Megalopolis also stars Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Jason Schwartzman, Dustin Hoffman, and Talia Shire. Coppola directed, wrote and produced the film, with Fred Roos, Barry Hirsch and Michael Bederman attached as producers.