AceShowbiz - Francis Ford Coppola wants to start production on his long-delayed sci-fi epic "Megalopolis" this year.

The Oscar-winning filmmaker, who will celebrate his 80th birthday on Sunday, April 07, has eyed plans to direct the feature film, a story about the aftermath and reconstruction of New York City after a mega-disaster, for many years, though abandoned the project after the September 11 terror attacks in 2001.

Coppola had confirmed that he had shelved "Megalopolis" in 2007 but indicated that he was open to returning to the concept, and on Wednesday, he told a reporter at Deadline that he was not only ready to make the movie, but would direct it too.

"I plan this year to begin my longstanding ambition to make a major work utilising all I have learned during my long career, beginning at age 16 doing theatre, and that will be an epic on a grand scale, which I've entitled Megalopolis," he said. "It is unusual; it will be a production on a grand scale with a large cast. It makes use of all of my years of trying films in different styles and types culminating in what I think is my own voice and aspiration."

Coppola went on to explain that "Megalopolis" would not be a "mainstream" film, and that he intends to kick off production in the near future.

According to Deadline, the film's script is completed, and "The Godfather" director has already begun "informal" talks with potential stars, with British actor Jude Law apparently among the names being discussed.

The news comes as Coppola is gearing up to release "Apocalypse Now: Final Cut" on 28 April as part of the Tribeca Film Festival. The new, never-before-seen restored version of the 1979 war film, which starred Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, and Martin Sheen, comes 40 years after the original and 18 years after the extended version, "Apocalypse Now Redux".

Coppola has most recently acted as executive producer on films like 2013's "The Bling Ring" and 2012's "On the Road", and wrote and directed 2011's "Twixt".