In what year is Civil War with Kirsten Dunst set?

Who doesn’t love a gritty war movie set in a dystopian future but linked to present day realities? Alex Garland’s offering is released on 12 April 2024 and takes us on a journey with a group of journalists embedded in the military as they race against organisations of rebels intent on getting to the White House in Washington DC. But when is it set?

A Civil War, now and in the future

Kirsten Dunst stars, along with the likes of Wagner Moura and Cailee Spaeny, in this action movie that Garland says is “at an indeterminate point in the future.” OK, so that doesn’t help particularly but the director known for Ex Machina and Annihilation adds that his chosen future is “just far enough ahead for me to add a conceit, and serves as a sci-fi allegory for our currently polarised predicament.”

In this nearish future, America is torn apart by civil war, and photojournalist Lee Smith [Dunst] and her team embark on a dangerous journey to interview the dictatorial President before rebel forces seize control of Washington, D.C. Along the way, they witness the horrors of war, endure loss, and confront their own demons. Ultimately, and I don’t think this is too much of a spoiler, they do indeed get to confront the President, with shocking consequences captured through Jessie’s lens.

So, with Garland also having previously admitting that what happened at the Capitol Building on 6 January 2021 resonated with him, the connections with today are still somewhat raw. He also pointed, however, to the links with other countries. The story isn’t just about the challenges that face truthful journalist in the United States. It is happening in many others.