It was just two years ago when Alex Garland went around and did publicity, talking about how he’d like to stop directing after the upcoming film, “Civil War.” Well, either he’s had a change of heart or he has the itch to direct one more time because Garland’s already found his leading man for a new war movie he’s hoping to begin production on this year.
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According to Deadline, Charles Melton has signed on to star in a new, untitled war film being co-written and co-directed by Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza, eventually to be distributed by A24. Now, first, you’re probably wondering who Mendoza is. He’s a consultant who helped with the military aspect of Garland’s upcoming “Civil War” feature. It would appear that the two men hit it off, which led to this idea of collaborating on a new feature. Exact details about the plot are unknown at this time.
Melton is probably best known for his most recent project, “May December,” for which he earned universal acclaim and a Golden Globe nomination. Prior to that, he showed up in projects such as “Riverdale,” “Poker Face,” and “Bad Boys for Life.” However, his star power has never been higher than after “May December,” so he could have really chosen nearly any project to work on next.
Again, it’s important to know Garland was previously talking about retiring from directing altogether, citing his feeling that he’s a “fraud” and he doesn’t have the “temperament” to direct. It would be a shame if he does eventually retire, possibly after this new film, because his previous work on projects such as “Ex Machina,” “Annihilation,” and “Devs,” is really great. Sure, “Men” wasn’t the massive hit he might have hoped for, but that film definitely isn’t nearly as bad as some might say. Also, we have no idea what’s going to happen with “Civil War,” which appears to be a big-budget, modern war film focused heavily on an extrapolated version of our current political discourse. That film could resonate with audiences or scare them away, we’ll have to see.
All that to say, we’re excited to see Garland working on a new film, and he’s picked a really great leading man.