Oscar Isaac and Forest Whitaker are set to star in Francis Ford Coppola’s long-gestating passion project Megalopolis.

The Godfather director has been trying to make his dream project Megalopolis for decades, and he now hopes to shoot the epic in autumn 2022.

In an interview with Deadline, the legendary filmmaker revealed the concept of the film and the characters his leads will be playing.

“It’s based on The Catiline Conspiracy, which comes to us from ancient Rome. This was a famous duel between a patrician, Catiline, and that part will be played by Oscar Isaac, and the famous Cicero, who will be Forest Whitaker,” he shared. “He is now the beleaguered mayor of New York, during a financial crisis… This story takes place in a new Rome, a Roman epic set in modern times. The time set is not a specific year in modern New York, it’s an impression of modern New York, which I call New Rome.”

The Apocalypse Now helmer added that he didn’t have all of his cast approved but “I have enough of them to have confidence that it is going to be a very exciting cast.”

He is in talks with Cate Blanchett and Jon Voight about roles, while he is seeking out Zendaya, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Jessica Lange. Coppola will also reunite with his The Godfather star James Caan on the project.

In the interview, Coppola, who wrote the Megalopolis script in the early 1980s, estimated that the movie would cost $100-120 million (£73-£87 million) to make and revealed he was willing to put up $100 million of his own money to get the picture into production if he had to.

“I’m still willing to do the dream picture, even if I have to put up my own money, and I am capable of putting up $100 million if I have to here. I don’t want to, but I will do it if I have to,” the 82-year-old said. “I’m prepared to match some outside financing, almost dollar for dollar. In other words, I’m willing to put my money where my mouth is.

“I want to see the dream come true and I am not afraid to risk my own money to make it happen.”

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