Alex Garland's Civil War Follow-Up Is Even More Promising Thanks To 1 Major Difference

Alex Garland’s next movie after Civil War has one key difference that will address the biggest complaints about his A24 action epic. Civil War marked a drastic departure for Garland as all his previous directorial features had fallen into the sci-fi or horror categories. Dredd is a futuristic actioner, Ex Machina is a sci-fi chiller meditating on A.I., Annihilation is a haunting piece of cosmic horror, and Men exists in its own world of weirdness. Despite taking place in a dystopian near-future in which the United States is ravaged by war, Civil War is his most grounded movie to date.

Although some of Garland’s recent comments were misconstrued as a retirement announcement, he’s currently hard at work on his next feature film. Like his last movie, Garland’s new project is another war movie – except this one is based on a real war, not an imagined near-future conflict. May December’s Charles Melton is in talks to play the lead role, and Joseph Quinn, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Kit Connor, Cosmo Jarvis, Will Poulter, and Finn Bennett have all joined the ensemble. This movie will address the biggest complaints about Civil War.

Alex Garland’s Next War Movie Is About Ray Mendoza’s True Story

Garland’s next movie is Warfare, which will once again be bankrolled and produced by A24. Unlike his last five films, Warfare is not a solo directorial project. Garland has co-written the script and will co-direct the film with Ray Mendoza. Mendoza worked as the military supervisor on Civil War, and Warfare will be an autobiographical work dramatizing his own military experiences. Garland has insisted that Warfare is very much Mendoza’s movie and he’ll just shepherd it through production as a co-director.

While some classic war movies are entirely fictitious, like Saving Private Ryan, The Deer Hunter, and Apocalypse Now, a lot of the genre’s best movies are similarly based on real wartime experiences. Platoon, Dunkirk, Hacksaw Ridge, Lone Survivor, and The Great Escape were all based on true stories. With Garland and Mendoza at the helm, Warfare could join their ranks.

Warfare Being A True Story Avoids Civil War’s Biggest Criticism

The biggest criticism directed at Civil War is that its politics are too ambiguous and it doesn’t provide any details on the background of its fictional war. Eagle-eyed viewers will notice that Civil War’s sniper scene explains everything, but there’s no ironclad worldbuilding; it’s more about America’s divisions in the abstract. Warfare won’t be able to avoid political details, since it’s based on a true story and a real-life war. Civil War’s critics will find what they’re looking for when Warfare arrives.

Civil War

Civil War is a 2024 action thriller from writer and director Alex Garland. Starring Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, and Stephen McKinley Henderson, Civil War takes place in the near future and shows the United States entering a new Civil War after California and Texas attempt to separate from the country.

Cast

Kirsten Dunst , Wagner Moura , Stephen McKinley Henderson , Cailee Spaeny , Jesse Plemons , Nick Offerman