A24’s new trailer for Civil War doesn’t move viewers any closer to understanding how, given the history of our country, California would be joining Texas and Florida in seceding from the United States. The idea of a second Civil War is nowhere near as far-fetched as Texas and Florida agreeing with anything California proposes, and vice versa, and writer/director Alex Garland (Ex Machina, Annihilation) recently said he wants audiences to ask how that could possibly happen.
“I tend not to spell things out in films. I sometimes feel overly spoon-fed by cinema, and so I probably just react against that,” said Garland in an interview with Empire. “That question, why Texas and California, is a question that I want the audience to ask.”
The film stars Oscar nominee Kirsten Dunst, Cailee Spaeny, Wagner Moura, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Sonoya Mizuno, and Nick Offerman. Spaeny, McKinley Henderson, Offerman, and Mizuno previously starred in Garland’s Devs sci-fi series.
According to A24, the film is “an adrenaline-fueled thrill ride through a near-future fractured America balanced on the razor’s edge.”
Garland’s behind-the-scenes team includes director of photography Rob Hardy, production designer Caty Maxey, editor Jake Roberts, and costume designer Meghan Kasperlik, with music by Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow.
The R-rated thriller will open in theaters and IMAX on April 12, 2024.
