When is the premiere of ‘Civil War’? Release date, cast and trailer

Alex Garland’s dystopian, state-of-the-nation action film Civil War isn’t even on general release yet but it has still managed to provoke a certain amount of debate on social media. Some have questioned its timing; it is seen as potentially driving yet another wedge between the public and dividing the masses in the run-out to the critical US general elections on 5 November. Others have argued that it is sending out a chilling message that one section of society could subconsciously latch on to, embedding an idea of the US plunging into an all-out civil war in which people are forced to pick sides.

Filmed on a $50m budget, Civil War poses a very uncomfortable idea which one reviewer slammed as “political porn” which uses rising political tensions to whip up emotional frenzy and unrest. The film centers around a team of reporters - two photojournalists (Kirsten Dunst and Cailee Spaeny) and two war correspondents (Wagner Moura and Stephen McKinley Henderson) and their journey from New York City to Washington, DC where they plan to take the president (played by Nick Offerman) to task.

Criticism for timing, neutral political stance, fictional alliances...

Civil War is more of a character study in how the prospect of war affects the psyche, at the same time stirring sabre-rattling, escalation and fear rather than a full-blown depiction of the violence and destruction it leaves behind. The movie doesn’t explain what led to the fractions or which party is in power - Garland describes a state of affairs that has simply run its course and a nation that has unwittingly spiralled out of control and turned its citizens against themselves.

On social media, some observers have noted that with the current ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, the last thing the world needs right now is to stoke more resentment and divide people even more. Among the critical analysis was that the film “reeks of propaganda”.

The film premiered Thursday night at SXSW in Austin, Texas.

Garland responds to criticism

Garland explained after the screening: “I think all of the topics in this film have been part of a huge public debate for years and years and years. None of it is secret or unknown to almost everybody. I wrote this in June four years ago when there was an election coming and we were just dealing with Covid - the same conversation as now - identical”.

As for some of the ambiguities and unanswered questions in Civil War, the director replied, “I personally think questions are answered - there are a lot of things that are clearly answered, one of which there is a fascist, corrupt president, who is smashing the constitution, attacking their own citizens and that is a very clear, answered statement. If you want to think about why Texas and California might be allied and putting aside their political differences, the answer would be implicit in that. Answers are there but you have to step to it and not expect to be spoon-fed these things”.

Brazilian actor Wagner Moura, who studied journalism before going into action, plays war correspondent Joel. He added, “No reason explains war, no reason explains the human cost of a war and I think that the empathy that the work of journalists brings to us is essentially fundamental. I think sometimes Americans take democracy for granted because they’re so used to it. I care about this country and what happens to its government. I know that’s why Civil War is scary. It’s not an alien invasion, like Independence Day. It feels too realistic.”

Civil War is scheduled to go on general release at theaters in the United States and United Kingdom on 12 April. It is projected to bring in box offices receipts of $18–24 million in its opening weekend.