America is at war in first trailer for Annihilation and Ex Machina director's new movie

The first trailer for Civil War, the latest movie from director Alex Garland, has been released – and it looks like the filmmaker best known for his psychological thrillers is trying his hand at the action genre. 

The movie sees Kirsten Dunst plays a war journalist who's thrust back into the field on home turf in a fraught and violent version of present-day America where 19 states have seceded and the "Western Forces" of Texas and California have risen up against the rest of the country. We're also told that journalists are "shot on sight" in the capital, so it doesn't look great for Dunst's character. 

The trailer also gives us a glimpse of Nick Offerman as the US President and Jesse Plemons as an antagonistic figure that Dunst and her companions encounter on the road. The movie's cast also includes Priscilla's Cailee Spaeny, Dune's Stephen McKinley-Henderson, Narcos' Wagner Moura, and House of the Dragon's Sonoya Mizuno. 

Garland is best known as the director of Annihilation and Ex Machina, as well as for penning the scripts for 28 Days Later, Sunshine, and Never Let Me Go, and creating the TV show Devs. His last movie was Men, his 2022 take on folk horror that starred Jessie Buckley and Rory Kinnear. The film received mixed reviews, with a score of 69% on Rotten Tomatoes, but Total Film gave it five stars, praising its bold originality. 

Civil War is set to hit the big screen on April 26, 2024. In the meantime, check out our picks of the other biggest movie release dates coming our way in the next 12 months. 

Entertainment Writer

I’m an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering everything film and TV-related across the Total Film and SFX sections. I help bring you all the latest news and also the occasional feature too. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism. 

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