While Alex Garland’s next film, “Men” for A24, is in the can and should come out later this year, his relationship with the indie studio, which released his debut directorial effort, “Ex Machina,” is only growing stronger.
According to Deadline, Garland’s follow-up film will be “Civil War,” an original action epic with an American near-future setting with A24 getting involved alongside production company DNA Films. While it’s unknown if the film will be as science-fiction-focused as his other features, given his tendencies towards that genre, it’s a safe bet that the “future” element of the description will be just as important as the “action” qualities.
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Taking leading roles in the picture will be Kirsten Dunst (“The Power of The Dog”), Brazilian actor Wagner Moura (“Narcos”), Stephen McKinley Henderson (“Dune”), and Cailee Spaeny (“Mare of Easttown”). The latter two actors previously worked with Garland on the FX series “DEVS,” which pushed genre boundaries, mixing future-forward ideas about A.I. with a thriller plot.
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Dunst is already in the Oscar mix for her performance in Jane Campion’s “The Power of The Dog,” and could be receiving a nomination later this year. “Civil War” would seemingly continue Garland’s streak of projects led by female protagonists.
Garland got his start as an author that eventually became a screenwriter working on Danny Boyle’s (“Trainspotting”) genre projects such as “The Beach,” “28 Days Later,” and “Sunshine” before shadow directing “Dredd” (according to star Karl Urban). He then broke out with cerebral sci-fi films “Ex Machina” and “Annihilation,” featuring female-centric stories.
Garland’s next film is the horror movie “Men,” starring Irish actress Jesse Buckley (“Fargo,” “Wild Rose”) and Rory Kinnear (“No Time To Die”). An announcement on its release is expected later this year, but a film festival bow in the fall could come first.