A politically charged new thriller, Civil War is an upcoming film that’s been courting some controversy since its South by Southwest premiere in March 2024.
From writer-director Alex Garland, known for 28 Days Later and Never Let Me Go, comes another look at dystopia — this time set amid the chaos and conflict of a second American Civil War.
Kirsten Dunst plays Lee, a photojournalist who is traversing the embattled country, from which California and Texas have seceded and united to form the “Western Forces” in an attempt to overthrow the established government. While documenting the inhumane horrors of American infighting and the reality of citizens becoming refugees in their own country, she seeks to tell the truth, a mission that feels inexplicably controversial even amid the real-life divisive state of U.S. politics.
While it’s no wonder that such a film would provoke some type of controversy, Garland promised following Civil War’s SXSW screening that his story is “intended as a conversation.”
“It is not asserting things — I mean I guess it’s asserting some things,” he clarified. “But it’s a conversation, and that means it’s not a lecture.”
The English director also said that, above all, his film is “a sort of love letter to journalism and how important it is.”
“There’s two kinds of filmmakers. There’s filmmakers who sort of, in a weird way, they make films about the films they love, which is a perfectly good thing to do. And there’s others that are in some way reacting to the world around them,” Garland explained. “And I’m in the second category. And so is it connected to the world? Yeah, it’s connected to the world. That’s more than just this country. Some of the things being discussed in Civil War exist globally. They’re not distinct to America. They might be contained here, but they’re not solely here.”
Here’s everything we know so far about the upcoming film.
THE CAST
Kirsten Dunst
In perhaps her grittiest role yet, Dunst plays Lee, a renowned photojournalist attempting to make her way across the embattled country to reach the Capitol.
“When I read the script, I thought, I’ve never done anything like this,” the actress said of the film in an interview with Marie Claire. “I think it’s a cautionary tale. A fable of what happens when people don’t communicate with each other and stop seeing each other as human beings.”
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Wagner Moura
The Brazilian actor and filmmaker plays Joel, Lee’s colleague and fellow journalist who joins her on her mission.
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Cailee Spaeny
The Priscilla star plays Jessie, an aspiring young photographer who is saved by Lee during a deadly riot and ends up accompanying Lee and Joel on their journey.
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Stephen McKinley Henderson
Known for scene-stealing supporting roles in films like Lady Bird and Beau Is Afraid, Henderson plays Sammy, a fellow journalist who has mentored Lee and Joel throughout their careers.
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Nick Offerman
A stark contrast to his anarchistic, government-loathing Parks and Recreation character, Ron Swanson, Offerman stars as a power-hungry POTUS, who has somehow skirted the rules to preside over the warring country for a third term.
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Other Cast
Civil War also stars Sonoya Mizuno as Anya, Jefferson White as Dave, Juani Feliz as Joy Butler, Nelson Lee as Tony, Edmund Donovan as Eddie, Karl Glusman as a spotter, Jin Ha as a sniper, Jojo T. Gibbs as a White House sergeant, and Jesse Plemons and Jess Matney as soldiers.
THE TRAILERS
THE CONTROVERSY
While undeniably a political film, Civil War does its best to mask any partisan bias. Garland avoids detailing exactly how the nation split in two, and the California-Texas-Florida alliance leaves the door open to any blue state vs. red state messaging.
“The movie isn’t partisan though, in any way. It’s not, it’s not about right or left,” Dunst explained at SXSW. “That’s the total opposite message of this film. It’s really about humanity and what a civil war does to a country and the horrors of it. So it’s more of a warning than anything else. And I feel like it does shake you because it’s very intense, it feels very real to film. And I think that’s why it’s affecting everybody so much.”
“I think that the thing I would say is that democracy is an important thing,” Moura agreed. “You know, not only voting is an important thing, but supporting the institutions – you can criticize them, you can work for them to become better institutions, but the wave of discredit in the democratic institutions is a very dangerous thing.”
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As for Garland, he remains steadfast in his messaging that the film is not a “lecture,” but a commentary designed to provoke thought and conversation about the state of both American and global politics.
“I always hope I’m leaving space for people to think and have their own opinion,” he noted. “I’m not interested in trying to assert my opinion particularly, but I am interested in asking questions and being involved in a conversation.”
Civil War is in theaters on April 12.
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