Civil War Director Confirms Retirement 2 Weeks Before Movie’s Release

Summary

• Civil War
  director Alex Garland confirms his intentions to step back from directing after the movie’s release.
• Garland confirms his intention to focus solely on screenwriting, with no plans to return to directing in the foreseeable future.
• Garland’s career as a screenwriter will resume with the upcoming project
  28 Years Later
  .

Civil War filmmaker Alex Garland has confirmed his intention to step back from directing. Garland, who was formerly known primarily as a screenwriter, made his feature directorial debut with the well-received 2014 science fiction movie Ex Machina, which he followed with Annihilation in 2018 and Men in 2022. His newest movie, which is the most expensive put out by A24 to date, follows journalists documenting a new civil war in the United States that occurs when the West, led by Texas and California, attempts to secede from the union.

The Guardian recently conducted an interview with Garland promoting the upcoming Civil War. When asked to follow up on a recent quote he gave regarding his intention to step back from directing after the release of the movie in order to focus on solely being a screenwriter, Garland said that “nothing’s changed.” He reinforced his original statement, saying that he doesn’t intend to return to the director’s chair for the “foreseeable future.” This statement does not affect his upcoming feature Warfare, which is in pre-production and which he co-wrote and will co-direct with Ray Mendoza. Read his full quote below:

Nothing’s changed. I’m in a very similar state. I’m not planning to direct again in the foreseeable future.

What Is Next For Alex Garland?

The Director Will Have A Busy “Retirement”

While the director’s previous movie Men was his most divisive yet, his retirement announcement doesn’t seem connected to the reception of his movies. With the exception of his debut feature The Beach, he has received near unanimous praise as both a screenwriter and a director. While Men was his biggest critical dip in quite some time, Civil War reviews have erased that downward trend, tying with Ex Machina for his best reviews yet. Below, see how Garland’s previous work has rated on Rotten Tomatoes both with critics and with audiences:

Especially if Civil War is a commercial hit as well as a critical one, it remains to be seen how long this directing hiatus will actually stick, as Garland doesn’t seem to have an issue co-directing Warfare with Mendoza, who was also the military advisor on A24’s Civil War. That movie, which just assembled its cast including Kit Connor, Will Poulter, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Charles Melton, Cosmo Jarvis, and Joseph Quinn, is still moving forward as planned. Whether it will cement Garland’s decision to step away from directing completely or reinvigorate his passion for the craft is unknown.

However, after Warfare and Civil War, Garland’s first officially announced upcoming project indeed sees him taking on a screenwriter role without directing. That tile is the upcoming horror sequel 28 Years Later, on which he will reteam with 28 Days Later director Dany Boyle. The pair have had a fruitful series of collaborations in the past, which could kickstart a new era of his career where he returns to being a screenwriter with a close relationship to directors rather than a director himself.

Source: The Guardian