Giancarlo Esposito joins Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis

Francis Ford Coppola has already filled his sci-fi epic Megalopolis with an all-star cast, but hell, let’s toss one more in there. Deadline has reported that Giancarlo Esposito has joined the cast of Megalopolis, but the nature of his character is being kept under wraps.

In addition to Giancarlo Esposito, the cast of Megalopolis includes Adam Driver, Forest Whitaker, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Chloe Fineman, Kathryn Hunter, Dustin Hoffman, DB Sweeney, Talia Shire, Jason Schwartzman, Bailey Ives, Grace Vanderwaal, and James Remar. The film centers on an architect who seeks to rebuild New York City as a utopia after a disaster.

Francis Ford Coppola began writing Megalopolis in the 1980s but recognized that it would require a huge budget to match its massive scope, so it sat on a shelf for decades. The director made waves when he said he would fund the $120 million movie himself. There had been reports that the film’s budget had spiralled out of control and key creative talents had left the production, but Coppola denied the claims earlier this month. “I’ve never worked on a film where I was so happy with the cast,” Coppola said. “I am so happy with the look and that we are so on schedule. These reports never say who these sources are. To them, I say, ha, ha, just wait and see. Because this is a beautiful film and primarily so because the cast is so great. I’ve never enjoyed working with a cast who are so hardworking and so willing to go search for the unconventional, to come upon hidden solutions. It is a thrill to work with these actors and the photography is everything I could hope for. The dailies are great. So if we’re on schedule, and I love the actors and the look is great, I don’t know what anyone’s talking about here.”

Giancarlo Esposito has plenty of projects to keep him busy in addition to Megalopolis. He recently won Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series at the Critics’ Choice Television Awards thanks to his performance in the final season of Better Call Saul, and was seen starring in Netflix’s Kaleidoscope, a heist drama series that could be viewed in any order. He’s also shooting with the Russo Brothers for The Electric State, as well as Netflix’s series adaptation of Guy Ritchie’s The Gentleman. He will next be seen in the third season of The Mandalorian, which will debut on Disney+ on March 1st.