Megalopolis, the long-awaited sci-fi feature from legendary director Francis Ford Coppola, is finally set to begin filming after years of setbacks and anticipation, and it was announced that the production will be shot using some groundbreaking technology.

Prysm Stages announced that Megalopolis will be the first film to be shot on its new LED volume stage at Trilith Studios in Atlanta. This state-of-the-art soundstage accommodates "a best-in-class ecosystem for physical production, including practical lighting, grip and camera, integrated into a state-of-the-art virtual production volume," according to Prysm, allowing the filmmakers to incorporate "never-before-seen" techniques to make Megalopolis. In a statement, Coppolla said simply, “I am enjoying working with Prysm at Trilith." The film's producer, Michael Bederman, was a little more forthcoming, however, saying, “What’s unique and exciting about shooting Megalopolis at Prysm at Trilith is that we can marry traditional filmmaking experience, techniques, and crew with the most advanced virtual production capabilities in the same space, accessing the best of both the physical and digital options available to filmmakers today.”

A fledgling technology just a few years ago, LED volume soundstages have become more mainstream due to use on large-scale recent projects. This type of filming environment has been most notably employed by Disney and Lucasfilm for its use on Star Wars projects, particularly to film unique alien planet environments for The Mandalorian. While this technology may be relatively new, though, Coppola reportedly aims to film Megalopolis using standard techniques as well, keeping “one foot in the past and one in the future." It is likely, then, that Megalopolis will retain some of the signature aspects of Coppola's previous films, such as The Godfather series and Apocalypse Now.

Trilith-Stage-22
Image via Prysm Stages

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The announcement of filming marks a major milestone in the life of Megalopolis. A logline obtained by The Hollywood Reporter describes the film as an “epic story of political ambition, genius and conflicted love” set in the backdrop of the modern world, with previous summaries saying that the film will revolve around the creation of a utopia following a catastrophic disaster. A passion piece for Coppola, development on the film can be traced back nearly 40 years, with the director making numerous attempts to get what he has called his "dream project" off the ground. However, the film remained in development hell for years, unable to secure funding or get a significant cast attached. That all changed, though, when Coppola financed the film himself, with Variety reporting that the director put up $100 million for the project.

With the money secured, Megalopolis has also finally been able to secure an appropriately "mega" cast. The film will star Adam Driver, with the acclaimed House of Gucci and Marriage Story actor signing onto the project this past May. Driver will be joined in the film by an ensemble cast that includes Forest Whitaker, Jon Voight, Nathalie Emmanuel, and Laurence Fishburne, all of whom signed on at similar times. The film will mark Fishburne's first project with Coppola since he made his film debut in Apocalypse Now back in 1979. Megalopolis added even more star power to its cast this past August with the addition of Aubrey Plaza.

Additions to the ensemble continued earlier this month, when it was announced that Coppola's sister Talia Shire, who also worked with her brother on The Godfather films, will appear in Megalopolis alongside her son Jason Schwartzman, who will also be seen in the upcoming Hunger Games prequel film, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Also joining the cast were Shia LaBeouf, Kathryn Hunter, Grace Vanderwaal, and James Remar.

The cast of Megalopolis has been plucked from a number of stars who were rumored to be attached to the film. This includes names like Oscar Isaac, Jessica Chastain, Cate Blanchett, Michelle Pfeiffer, Zendaya, and Jessica Lange. While it was later confirmed that Isaac would not be involved, it has not been announced if any of these other standouts will be joining the film.

Filming on Megalopolis is reportedly set to begin this November, and is likely to last until March 2023. Check out Prysm's video about the latest filmmaking tech at Stage 22 at Trilith Studios down below along with images of the stage itself:

Trilith-Stage-22
Image via Prysm Stages
Trilith-Stage-22
Image via Prysm Stages
Trilith-Stage-22
Image via Prysm Stages
Prysm Stage
Image via Prysm Stages