Although, back in 2022, he had mentioned plans about retiring from filmmaking, Alex Garland is now confirming that “Civil War,” his latest film, will also be the last one he directs.
“Nothing’s changed,” Garland tells The Guardian. “I’m in a very similar state. I’m not planning to direct again in the foreseeable future.”
Garland admits that he’s “fallen out of love” with filmmaking. “I do actually love film, but filmmaking doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It exists in a life and also in a broader context. I have to interact, in a way – without being rude.”
He gives, as an example, sitting in a car park outside Atlanta, asking his Civil War cast to believe that one day the VFX blue screen behind them will be a night sky lit up by mortar fire. Or on Ex Machina where, “Alicia [Vikander] and Sonoya [Mizuno] are trusting that nudity is going to be dealt with thoughtfully and respectfully … [when] cinema leans towards not doing that.”
Garland, full of praise for A24, who is producing “Civil War,” says that isn’t it about lack of funding for his projects, but, rather, “from the fact that you’re asking people to trust something that, on the face of it, doesn’t look very trustworthy.”
So, why was another A24 project just announced, titled “Warfare,” with Garland co-directing this time around, with Ray Mendoza? The filmmaker clarifies that he is only co-directing, “I respect [Mendzoa] a great deal, though we’re very different.” It sounds like his participation in “Warfare” is more about helping out Mendoza in his feature directing debut than instilling his own vision of things.
Garland will also be writing the now-confirmed “28 Days Later” sequel, which will see him reuniting with Danny Boyle. The plan is to turn it into a new trilogy of films, with Garland writing all three.
So, there you have it, Garland will, apparently, not be directing again. Garland’s last film was the very divisive “Men,” before that he helmed the well-reviewed “Ex-Machina” and “Annihilation.” His unofficial directorial debut was “Dredd,” for which he was not credited — that film now has a cult following, and for good reason, it’s a fantastic sci-fi vision.
Garland started off his career as a go-to screenwriter for Danny Boyle, having penned the scripts for “28 Days Later,” “Sunshine,” and, also, Mark Romanek’s “Never Let Me Go.” His “Civil War” hits theaters on April 12.