Why is Francis Ford Coppola's 'Megalopolis' trailer being recalled? Details explored as Lionsgate issues apology 

Lionsgate Entertainment is recalling the latest trailer for Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis. This has happened following the criticism about the fake quotes from the critics at the beginning of the video. The same was noticed and pointed out by many social media users, which made the makers apologize for the same.

Entertainment Weekly reported that Lionsgate is now recalling the trailer, as a spokesperson said in a statement:

"Lionsgate is immediately recalling our trailer for Megalopolis. We offer our sincere apologies to the critics involved and to Francis Ford Coppola and American Zoetrope for this inexcusable error in our vetting process. We screwed up. We are sorry."

It is worth noting that the movie has been fully financed by Coppola, but the distribution rights of the film in America are with Lionsgate, which makes the entertainment company answerable for the same.

Megalopolis is an epic science fiction drama film which has been written, directed and even produced by Francis Ford Coppola. The movie stars Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Kathryn Hunter, Grace VanderWaal, Chloe Fineman and Dustin Hoffman.

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Lionsgate deleted the trailer as soon as it was released on Wednesday, August 21, 2024

The trailer was released on Wednesday, August 21, 2024. It featured a voiceover by Laurence Fishburne who takes out quotes from many of the critics, who had offered their opinions on Francis Ford Coppola’s previous works in movies like The Godfather and Apocalypse Now. However, the trailer was taken down as soon as it was released, due to the negative reviews from the masses.

The trailer included a quote attributed to a New Yorker review of The Godfather, which read “diminished by its artiness.” Other quotes from Village Voice were also included where the critic called The Godfather a movie that “doesn’t know what it wants to be.” It also included The New York Times’ quote for Apocalypse Now where the publication called the movie “hollow at its core.”

As per Hollywood Reporter, the quotes were included in the movie trailer with the purpose of showing how Francis Ford Coppola’s work has been under fire and in doubt previously. On the other hand, the publication also reported that Coppola’s production house and Lionsgate spent more than $120 million on the movie.

The movie tells the story of Cesar Catilina, who is an architect, wanting to rebuild New Rome after a disaster occurs in the city. It revolved around his battle with the Mayor of the city, who opposes him and rejects the idea of the same.

While the movie has already premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 16, 2024, it has been scheduled to be released in the United States on September 27, 2024. However, the makers have not declared the date of release of the movie in other parts of the world.