
Oscar-nominated filmmaker Alex Garland (Ex Machina, Men) is reteaming with A24 for Civil War, an action epic that has Kirsten Dunst (The Power of the Dog, The Beguiled) set to star alongside Wagner Moura (The Shining Girls, Narcos), Stephen McKinley Henderson (Dune, Bruised) and Cailee Spaeny (The First Lady, Mare of Easttown).
Garland will direct the film set in a near-future America from his original screenplay. Details as far as its plot are being kept under wraps.
A24 will produce, alongside Andrew Macdonald and Allon Reich of DNA and Gregory Goodman, and handle the film’s global release.
Garland received his first Oscar nomination in 2016 for his Ex Machina screenplay and has also garnered accolades over the course of his career including a DGA Award and three BAFTA Award noms, among others. He’s previously teamed with A24 on Ex Machina, as well as Men, a horror-drama starring Jessie Buckley and Rory Kinnear that is set for release later this year. He also helmed the 2018 film Annihilation and created, wrote, directed and exec produced the FX on Hulu series Devs.
Dunst is in the awards race this year with her role as Rose Gordon in Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog, having most recently received a SAG Award nomination in the category of Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role. The actress received an Emmy nom for her role as Peggy Blumquist in FX’s Fargo and has also appeared in series including On Becoming a God in Central Florida, Drunk History and Black Mirror, along with such films as The Beguiled, Hidden Figures, Midnight Special, Melancholia, Marie Antoinette, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Virgin Suicides.
Moura is best known stateside for his Golden Globe-nominated turn as Pablo Escobar in Netflix’s Narcos. The Brazilian actor and filmmaker also wrote, directed and produced the film Marighella, which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, and will next be seen in the Apple TV+ series, The Shining Girls.
Henderson has recently appeared in such films as Denis Villeneuve’s Dune, Halle Berry’s Bruised, Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird, Denzel Washington’s Fences and Kenneth Lonergan’s Manchester by the Sea, along with series including Devs, The Resident, Proven Innocent, The Blacklist, Fear the Walking Dead and Run. He’s a Tony Award nominee and the winner of both an Obie and a Lucille Lortel Award who currently recurs on Hulu’s Wu-Tang: An American Saga.
Spaeny will next be seen in the Showtime series The First Lady, having recently appeared in HBO’s critically acclaimed award winner Mare of Easttown. She’s also featured in such films as How It Ends, Vice, On the Basis of Sex and Bad Times at the El Royale.
DNA previously produced Garland’s films Ex Machina, Annihilation and Men. It has also been behind titles including Trainspotting, The Last King of Scotland, Love, Actually, among many others.
Goodman’s past producing credits include Three Kings, 8 Mile, Captain Phillips and 22 July.
Garland is represented by WME and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman; Dunst by UTA, Management 360 and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller; Moura by WME, Black Rabbit Media and Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole; Henderson by Stewart Talent and EKG Management; Spaeny by WME, Sugar23 and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller; and Goodman by ICM Partners.
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