A24's chilling 'Civil War' trailer sees America tearing itself apart

It's a grim picture, even with Nick Offerman playing the president.
 By 
Shannon Connellan
 on 
A photojournalist stands in a pink haze as if in a war zone.

Men, Ex Machina, and Annihilation director Alex Garland examines an America tearing itself apart in Civil War, and honestly, the trailer feels deeply uncomfortable to watch.

A24 dropped a chilling first look at the upcoming film which sees a "near-future" U.S. descending into brutal conflict. We're introduced to Nick Offerman as the president overseeing a dominant U.S. military suppressing state by state. He's accused of using air strikes against his own citizens, while armed forces take over the streets of New York and Washington DC. Then, the Lincoln Memorial is blown up. It's a grim picture.

Kirsten Dunst and Wagner Moura star as war photojournalists trying to navigate their family through the violence while attempting to report the truth — despite violent threats to journalists. There's a casually terrifying Jesse Plemons as a American soldier terrorising their family and asking "what kind of Americans" they are, and Cailee Spaeny, Stephen McKinley Henderson, and Sonoya Mizuno also star.


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Civil War hits cinemas April 26, 2024.

In the meantime, check out Mashable's best movies of 2023.

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A photo portrait of a journalist with blonde hair and a band t-shirt.
Shannon Connellan
UK Editor

Shannon Connellan is Mashable's UK Editor based in London, formerly Mashable's Australia Editor, but emotionally, she lives in the Creel House. A Tomatometer-approved critic, Shannon writes about entertainment, tech, social good, science, culture, and Australian horror.

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