Brazilian actor Wagner Moura (Narcos) is caught in the middle of a civil war in the United States in the chilling new thriller from A24 titled Civil War by writer-director Alex Garland (Ex-Machina). It also stars Kirsten Dunst as a journalist covering the war.
The trailer for the dystopian film begins with a narrator explaining that 19 U.S. states have seceded. “The three-term president assures the uprising will be dealt with swiftly,” one of the narrators says. Note: The 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution limits the number of times a person can be elected to the office of President of the U.S. to two terms.
Soon after, Moura, whose name is unknown yet, walks into a retail store with his family and notes that the store clerk seems to be ignoring the fact that there’s a war going on outside their doors. “Are you guys aware that there’s a pretty huge civil war going on all across America?” Moura asks the woman at the front desk.
As the trailer continues, viewers can see the changes that are occurring throughout the nation. There is a version of the American flag with 2 stars for the Western front of Texas and California. There is military gunfire in the streets killing civilians. A reporter asks if the President “regrets the use of airstrikes against American citizens.”
In the most intense scene in the trailer, Moura and Kirsten Dunst’s character come into contact with an armed U.S. soldier who is coincidently played by the real-life husband of Dunst, Jesse Plemons. When Moura tries to explain to him that they are “American,” the soldier asks, “What kind of American are you?”
As the nation burns, Moura wonders if we are still living as “one nation under God” or if we’ve crossed the point of no return.
Civil War is scheduled to premiere in theaters April 26, 2024.