Summary

• Alex Garland clarifies his retirement comments, which swelled speculation of his dislike of Civil War.
• Garland is not quitting Hollywood, but rather taking time to focus on screenwriting in his career.
• Civil War is receiving positive reviews thus far, garnering a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Civil War director Alex Garland clarifies his recent commentary surrounding his retirement. Civil War a political thriller surrounding a dystopian future America in which military-embedded journalists face to reach DC before rebel factions overtake the White House. Garland writes and directs Civil War, which features a leading cast including Nick Offerman, Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Jefferson White, and Nelson Lee.

Per recent retirement remarks. Garland first sought to reiterate his previous statement: simply, he is “going to take a break from directing for the foreseeable future.” He did not mean for this commentary to get “extrapolated as what pride [he does] or [does] not feel in” Civil War. He went on to give the reminder that he is going to focus on screenwriting, which he says is a part of filmmaking as much as directing is. Check out Garland’s statement below:

What I said is I’m going to take a break from directing for the foreseeable future. How that could get extrapolated as what pride I do or do not feel in this movie. I just don’t see the connecting thread. I said I’m going to stop directing for the foreseeable future. Why would a statement like that be taken and picked over or interpreted to that degree? There’s something weird happening there. There’s something strange about that … it’s a general strangeness that exists to do with what form public statements take, how they are used, and how words are interpreted or read.

Just to go back to the statement, I said: I’m going to take a break from directing or I’m going to stop directing for the foreseeable future. That is such an uncontentious thing to say. I also said what I’m going to do is screenwriting. Screenwriting is filmmaking. You can’t erase screenwriters or DOPs or editors or actors from the process of screenwriting. Filmmaking is not the preserve solely of directors.

Alex Garland’s Retirement Comments Explained

Garland’s clarification comes after the Civil War creative recently doubled down on comments regarding his step-back from directing. After he spoke about stepping back from directing after the release of Civil War in order to focus on screenwriting, Garland was asked to clarify the issue. In doing so, Garland said that he is “not planning to direct again for the foreseeable future," leading to the reports that Garland was retiring.

This statement led to the widespread assumption that Garland may have been dissatisfied with the final product of Civil War. The thriller was predicted to be one of his most divisive yet, given its political undertones and it being the follow-up to Garland’s Men, which received a disharmonious reception upon its 2022 release. As evidenced by Garland’s statement, he did not intend for that link to be made, and the director has said nothing to directly indicate his dissatisfaction with Civil War. In fact, Civil War has received positive reviews thus far, holding a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes.

As Garland alludes to in his statement, those who think that Garland’s directing step-back indicates retirement from Hollywood are misplaced in their understanding of his career. While Garland has directed several works within the last decade, including the well-regarded Ex Machina and Annihilation, he got his start as a screenwriter. Writing lauded screenplays for films such as 28 Days Later and Dredd, the roots of Garland’s career are in screenwriting. Leaning into screenwriting after Civil War is not a retirement for Garland at all, but rather a return to the genesis of his vibrant Hollywood career.

Civil War releases April 12 in theaters.

Source: IndieWire