Civil War Stars Address Movie’s Intense Subject Matter

Alex Garland, the director known for helming movies such as Ex Machina and Annihilation, is back with a new film. Civil War hits theaters this month, and it follows war journalists as they travel through the United States amidst an ongoing war. The film is currently up on Rotten Tomatoes with a 93% critics score after 40 reviews, and some are calling it a “tough and unsettling” watch. ComicBook.com recently had the chance to chat with the film’s stars, and they spoke about what it was like to make such a harrowing movie.

“I was just talking about this, the tension in films like that, when I did Narcos, we were dealing with a lot of heavy scenes and all that,” Wagner Moura explained. “It’s not in your mind, it’s not an intellectual thing. Your mind is free when you rap. Right? I’m going to go somewhere, I’m going to smoke a cigarette, have a drink, but the body, it sort of stays there, right? So I don’t know how to shake it off, actually. And those keeping up with life, seeing people that you love and maybe love. Love is the answer, though.” 

We asked Cailee Spaeny if she studied any real-life war journalists, and she spoke about some of her inspirations.

“I read a lot about three in particular,” Spaeny explained. “Don McCullin, Lee Miller, who my character looks up to, and who I think about all the time now. And Lynsey Addario, who is working today, and then Alex himself grew up with journalists. His dad was a political cartoonist, and so he had so many personal stories and mentors that were from the journalism world and has such a love for them, and so I think that’s really injected into this story.” 

You can watch our interview with Moura, Spaeny, and Kirsten Dunst at the top of the page. 

Is Alex Garland Retiring?

Garland recently expressed that he would be stepping away from directing, and while some of those comments were interpreted to mean he would no longer be making movies, he has since clarified his comments. The director explained that he is specifically taking an indefinite hiatus from directing to focus on writing. However, he has no plans to retire. 

“What I said is I’m going to take a break from directing for the foreseeable future. How that could get extrapolated as what pride I do or do not feel in this movie. I just don’t see the connecting thread,” Garland confirmed to IndieWire. “I said I’m going to stop directing for the foreseeable future. Why would a statement like that be taken and picked over or interpreted to that degree? There’s something weird happening there. There’s something strange about that … it’s a general strangeness that exists to do with what form public statements take, how they are used, and how words are interpreted or read.”

Civil War is set to hit theaters on April 12th.