How did Julia keep time in Megalopolis?

Warning: Spoilers ahead for Megalopolis.

Julia becomes Cesare’s driving force in Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis. After brewing a storm of controversy after Lionsgate released a trailer featuring fabricated reviews from real-life critics and a decade-long development process, Megalopolis is finally released in theaters on September 27, 2024. Legendary director Francis Ford Coppola spent $120 million of his own fortune to produce the film, even selling part of his profitable wine empire to bring his long-awaited vision to life. Adam Driver leads the cast of Megalopolis As Cesar Catilina alongside Aubrey Plaza, Nathalie Emmanuel, Giancarlo Esposito and Shia LaBeouf.

Julia Cicero (Emmanuel), the daughter of Esposito’s mayor Cicero, is Cesare’s primary love interest in Megalopolis. Cesar is the inventor and discoverer of a miraculous and groundbreaking substance known as Megalon, which allows him to perform and create all kinds of remarkable societal functions and products. It is revealed that Julia is also able to harness some of Megalon’s abilities, although it is not entirely clear how this is possible. Since Megalon is best described as The ambiguous source of Cesar’s love and vision for the future manifested in a physical substanceIt looked like he would be the only one who could use his powers, which included time.

Julia stopped time in Megalopolis’ end with Megalon Powers

Only Cesar and his loved ones can harness Megalon’s power

at the end of MegalopolisJulia uses Megalon’s powers to stop time. It’s evident that she now has Cesar’s powers from the Megalon as well, so it’s not just something that Cesar alone can harness. It seems that only Cesar and his loved ones can harness the power of Megalon. It is never determined in the film whether citizens of Megalopolis Will also be able to access the powers of Megalon, which would be a major question that a potential sequel would be forced to answer. Still, considering that Megalon’s magical and seemingly infinite abilities stem from Cesar’s pool of inspirationIt makes sense that Julia, his muse, shares his powers.

Cesar inexplicably loses his ability to control time halfway through the film but is able to harness the powers again through his love for Julia. at the end of MegalopolisAfter Julia and Cesar have a baby, it appears that The child is immune to Julia’s manipulation of time and space, Hinting that Cesar’s heir is even more powerful than he is and perhaps is infused with Megalon himself. Both Megalopolis and Cesar’s baby are made from the same source, his hopes and dreams, which are physically manifested as the substance Megalon. Because the city is depicted as a vision of a future world, perhaps Caesar’s child is meant to represent the future of humanity.

How long did Julia have Megalon powers?

Julia’s Megalon powers grew along with her relationship with Cesar

Julia may have been able to harness Megalon’s powers all along but perhaps waited until the final moment of Megalopolis to reveal her true abilities. At first, when Julia meets Cesare at his home, Julia piques Cesare’s curiosity as she takes an intricate interest in the workings of his vision for his utopia. Cesar’s source of inspiration, aka Megalon, becomes inaccessible to him through his rampant drug use and various attempts by LaBeouf’s Clodio Pulcher to assassinate his character. As Cesar and Julia grow closer and closer throughout the film, Julia reemerges when all hope is gone and Cesar is able to harness Megalon’s powers again.

Since all of Megalon’s roads lead to Cesar, it appears that Julia’s ability to harness Megalon’s powers comes directly from her connection to Cesar’s mind, heart, and spirit. The deeper her true connection is with Cesar, the more she is able to assume the powers of Megalon, who seems to have his own type of sentient presence and knowledge as a mysterious and miraculous force. In this way, Cesar is “chosen” to discover and harness Megalon. Julia, by proxy, was also anointed in a sense to assume the responsibilities that came with harnessing the powers of Megalon. In the wrong hands, Megalon could effectively destroy the world.

Megalopolis teased Julia’s time powers early on

She may have always had the potential to harness Megalon

Julia originally saw Cesar stop time, so she could have the ability to use Megalon’s powers at this point in the film and just not know it. Continuing the idea that Megalon and the ability to stop time are metaphors for artistic and creative inspiration from Cesar’s/Coppola’s loves and dreams, Julia’s ability to develop control over Megalon’s powers equates to a young artist’s potential for learning and mastering a craft. Her connection to Cesar gives her a stronger hold on Megalon and their deep bond puts them on a level playing field.

When Julia first encounters Cesar at the beginning of the film, she is young and unsure of the future. Through Cesar, Julia is able to discover herself and also provide a source of Cesar’s own inspiration, making the two inseparable by the end of the film. Another key component of Megalon is belief, which indicates that Julia believed in Cesar’s vision enough to be able to access their real-world applications, which seem only possible on a higher dimensional plane. Julia being able to harness Megalon is essential to the thesis of Megalopolis Since Cesar’s vision is to allow all citizens of New Rome to access and harness the miraculous substance themselves.

Julia is the key to Caesar’s power in Megalopolis as well

Cesar’s utopian vision could never come to fruition without Julia

Cesar is gifted with the ability to use Megalon’s powers to improve humanity and the future of civilization. He almost becomes the creator of Megalon and a new world As a prophetic figure who stood up to spread the word of a higher power to the masses Or a religious missionary. Cesar loses Megalon’s powers after engaging in things like drugs and other vices and only gets them back from his love for Julia. She has the power to set him straight so he can use Megalon’s abilities for the greater good.

It appears that when Cesar falls from grace, he loses his clarity and drive to achieve his Megalon-based utopia. Julia is able to not only empower Cesar but put him back in a position so that he can empower himself and others through Megalon and his utopia. Because Julia becomes such a critical component in the creation of MegalopolisShe appears to be granted approval from the powers of the sentient mind of Megalon himself. Cesar never explicitly explained step-by-step how to harness them. Ultimately, Cesar becomes a vehicle for Megalon to manifest from a higher dimensional plane into the civilized world of New Rome and Julia is rewarded for her role in the process. Megalopolis.