Megalopolis Movie Ending Explained and What’s the Immersive Experience?

You wonder if Megalopolis has a post-credits scene? We’ll tell you right here: There is no mid- or post-credits scene.

Full spoilers for the film follow here…

Francis Ford Coppola self-financed, prone to controversy Science fiction spectacle Megalopolis has finally arrived, and although critics are divided on the film (at the time of writing, it has one 50% of critics score on Rotten Tomatoes) there’s no denying that it’s full of mind-blowing moments.

This could even include purchasing tickets to the film, where consumers will find they have two options: Megalopolis: The Ultimate Experience and regular Megalopolis. Let’s take a closer look at what the so-called “immersive” Ultimate Experience is all about and what the film’s ending means… and more!

What is Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis?

Directing classics like The Godfather, Apocalypse Now and yes, even Bram Stoker’s DraculaCoppola deserves some leeway when we approach any of the filmmaker’s new projects. He also attracted a full cast of actors for “Megalopolis,” starring Adam Driver as the future Cesar Catilina’s architect, Giancarlo Esposito as Cesar’s rival mayor Franklyn Cicero, Nathalie Emmanuel as Julia Cicero, the mayor’s daughter and Cesar’s lover, and Aubrey Starring Plaza as Wow are Platinum, part financial reporter/part Access Hollywood host, and Shia LaBeouf as Clodio, a cousin of Cesar who craves his power and influence. Other familiar faces appearing in supporting or very small roles include Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Talia Shire, Jason Schwartzman and Dustin Hoffman.

Set in a futuristic version of New York City, now called “New Rome,” Megalopolis details the details of Cesar’s battles with Mayor Cicero (and others) over how best to develop the city and help its masses and how to do so The best way to rebuild is after a Russian satellite fell from the sky and destroyed large parts of the skyline. In an on-screen title card, Coppola presents the film as a “fable” but is clearly trying to reconcile the fall of the Roman Empire with the current development of the United States.

Or so.

Honestly, Megalopolis is as confusing as it is ambitious, convoluted in parts but visually cool in others. But what does it all add up to in the end? Read on…

The ending of Megalopolis explained

Did I mention that Driver’s Cesar can stop time? Yes, amid all the Shakespeare quotes and psychedelic trips that take place in the film, Cesar has the unique ability to stop time. Normally just Robert Hays and residents of the Twilight zone can pull off this trick, but when we first meet Cesar, he barely saves himself as he climbs off the edge of the Chrysler Building by… yes, freezing time with just a few words.

He’ll use this trick from time to time, but in reality it’s his discovery of something called Megalon that is his true magic. This super element allows Cesar, as head of the city’s “Design Authority,” to create a vision of the utopia he wants to transform New Rome into. (This vision kind of looks like a planet Doctor Strange would visit, but whatever.) This contrasts with the mayor’s more strict approach to improving the city – namely, he prefers the old-fashioned way of not changing much. And then there’s Voight’s rich guy Crassus, whose money is needed for the vision of whoever wins.

Over the course of the film there are many verbal and positional battles, culminating in an assassination attempt on Cesar in which half of his face is blown off. But Megalon is used to reconstruct him, resulting in a glowing half-face that’s even weirder than the scenes in which the characters are Strictly speaking stumble.

However, Cesar has other problems, namely that Shia LaBeouf’s Clodio has teamed up with Aubrey Plaza’s Wow to close Cesar’s bank accounts, while also forcing Crassus (whom Wow married earlier in the film in a futuristic Coppola wedding sequence) into retirement, to take control of his assets. Clodio has also developed a personality cult directed against Cesar, thanks to his promises that he will improve the lives of the city’s common and oppressed citizens, even if he doesn’t actually care about them.

Crassus appears to have suffered a stroke at one point, but we soon learn that he was faking how badly he was affected by the incident. This leads to Wow and Clodio being surprised in Crassus’ bedroom as he pulls out a bow and arrow and kills his wife. An injured Clodio escapes, but he is apparently murdered by a rampaging mob of his followers who chain him up.

With Wow’s bloodied body still lying on his bedroom floor, Crassus decides that he wants to be remembered as a “good man” and decides to finance Cesar’s utopia plans. Meanwhile, Nathalie Emmanuel’s Julia has married Cesar, despite the protests of her father, the mayor, and they have a child together. Cesar gives an impassioned speech to the people of the city, and the mayor realizes that he can no longer fight Cesar – especially now that he has Crassus’ support. And what’s more, they are now related by marriage!

As the film nears its end, Cesar, Julia and their baby are joined on stage by the mayor and his wife as the New Rome crowd cheers them on. The stage is set for Cesar’s utopia (there’s a magical hiking trail and everything!). Cesar asks Julia to stop time (she seems to have the ability now too), which she does… but her baby is strangely unaffected and continues to move while everyone else is frozen. A title card appears with a pledge of allegiance…to planet Earth. And then the credits roll.

Why isn’t the baby frozen like everyone else? As with much of Megalopolis, this is probably a more metaphorical reading of events. Cesar and Julia’s child represents the future they have worked to improve for all the generations that will one day live in New Rome, and so the ball is now in their court – starting with this baby!

What is the Immersive Megalopolis: The Ultimate Experience?

For decades, Coppola has wanted to change the way films are produced and distributed. His production company American Zoetrope (formerly known as Zoetrope Studios) was founded as a way to work outside of the Hollywood system, and although things never quite worked out for the filmmaker for various reasons, we still see him experimenting now with Megalopolis.

Megalopolis: The Ultimate Experience is an option in some theaters across the country, which includes a unique version of a scene in the film in which Adam Driver’s character speaks to offscreen reporters. In the regular version of the film, voiceovers play these reporters. But in the “Ultimate Experience,” what Lionsgate calls “live attendees” actually appear at the front of the theater to interact with Driver on screen and ask questions while the filmed image of Driver responds. Some of these “live participants” also reportedly have a spotlight or microphone for their dialogue.

Indiewire provides a good breakdown of this interesting aspect of Megalopolis’ release if you’d like to learn more. You can also see what it looks like in the video here:

the interaction scene with the audience in a big city. Love it or hate it, that’s a fucking boundary crossing. pic.twitter.com/zGKIHqwoy6

— Bbm7 (@leche_ninho) September 24, 2024

Does Megalopolis have a post-credits scene?

No, as already mentioned, there are no post- or mid-credits scenes in Megalopolis.

But what did you think of the film? It’s a real doozy, isn’t it? Let’s discuss in the comments!