Cannes 2024 | First set of films announced for film festival including “Furiosa” - but any “Megalopolis?”

Expect works from George Miller, David Cronenberg and the latest starring vehicles from Zoe Saldana and Sebastian Stan, as Cannes Film Festival has announced the first wave of films that will be screening as part of this year’s proceedings in May 2024. But the big question is - will Francis Ford Coppola screen his highly-anticipated sci-fi epic “Megalopolis”?

Coppola’s “will he/won’t he” situation isn’t the only enigmatic discussion surrounding one of the film industry's “big five” film festivals, as there are also discussions that Yorgos Lanthimos, readying himself for this weekend’s Academy Awards ceremony, might also premiere his “mysterious” follow up to 2023’s “Poor Things,” with "Kinds of Kindness" another potential inclusion once the final programme of films has been announced.

But there are certainties for fans of Anya Taylor-Joy and the “Mad Max” franchise, as the Cannes Film Festival 2024 has been selected to premiere George Miller’s follow-up to the acclaimed 2015 instalment, “Mad Max: Fury Road,” with “Furiosa” set to follow the character made popular by Charlize Theron's origin story. 

The festival will also be premiering “Emilia Perez,” a musical crime comedy film written and directed by Jacques Audiard and starring Zoe Saldana and Selena Gomez, while British actor Ben Whishaw will be featured in “Limonov, the Ballad of Eddie” by Kirill Serebrennikov and “The Apprentice” sees “Holy Spider” and two episodes of “The Last of Us” director Ali Abbasi team up with Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong based on Donald Trump’s earlier years as a real estate mogul.

Though confirmed but still intriguing to discover further, renowned Italian filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino will also be screening his latest film featuring Gary Oldman, though information regarding that production remains scant - hopefully more to be revealed when the festival programme is officially released later this month or early April 2024.

What films have been confirmed for the Cannes Film Festival 2024?

Confirmed

• "Furioas: A Mad Max Saga" - directed by Geroge Miller, starring Charlize Theron
• "Emilia Perez" - directed by Jacques Audiard, starring Zoe Saldana and Selena Gomez.
• "Limonov, The Ballad of Eddie" - directed by Kirill Serebrennikov, starring Ben Whishaw.
• "The Apprentice" - directed by Ali Abbasi, starring Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong.
• Untitled film by Paolo Sorrentino, featuring Gary Oldman.
• "The Shrouds" - directed by David Cronenberg, starring Vincent Cassel and Diane Kruger.
• "Emmanuelle" - directed by Audrey Diwan, featuring Noemie Merlant and Noemie Watts.
• "L’Amour Ouf" - directed by Gilles Lellouche, starring Adele Exarchopoulos and Francois Civil.
• "Everybody Loves Touda" - directed by Nabil Ayouch.

Rumoured to be screening

• “Kinds of Kindness" by Yorgos Lanthimos.
• "Bird" by Andrea Arnold.
• "Megalopolis" by Francis Ford Coppola, featuring Adam Driver and Forest Whitaker.

When is the Cannes Film Festival 2024?

This year’s Cannes Film Festival is scheduled to open on May 14 2024 and set to run until May 24 2024.