Novelist and screenwriter turned director Alex Garlands has stated in a recent interview with The Guardian that he's likely done directing films. Moving forward, he will concentrate on solely writing scripts.
“Nothing’s changed. I’m in a very similar state,” Garland told the outlet in response to a question about previous hints from the Ex Machina director that he planned to step back from directing and focus more on writing.
He continued, “I’m not planning to direct again in the foreseeable future.”
The difficulties of filmmaking, according to Garland, are not financial but rather the result of the industry's growing reliance on blue screen technology and his inability to provide cast and crew with guarantees that everything would turn out as planned while filming.
"The pressure doesn’t come from the money. It comes from the fact that you’re asking people to trust something that, on the face of it, doesn’t look very trustworthy", said Garland.
He went on to add an example from Ex Machina, stating, "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 first gained notoriety with his 1996 novel The Beach, which was adapted into a Danny Boyle-directed motion picture starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
After that, Garland's reputation in Hollywood circles kept growing as a result of his scriptwriting on Dredd, Sunshine, and 28 Days Later. He then made his directorial debut with 2014's Ex Machina, 2018's Annihilation, and 2022's Men.
Up next, and potentially Garland's final directorial outing, is Civil War, which stars Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Cailee Spaeny, Stephen McKinley Henderson, and Nick Offerman.
Currently, the film sits at a 92% approval rating from 38 reviews on the Rotten Tomatoes aggregate review site. The film has an average score of 8.1 out of 10.
In their review, Empire Magazine wrote, "As a political statement, Civil War is provocative and occasionally exasperating; as a purely cinematic experience, it is urgent, heart-in-mouth, extraordinary stuff."
Civil War film opens in theaters on April 12, 2024, in North America and the UK.
Civil War (2024) Official Synopsis: An adrenaline-fueled thrill ride through a near-future fractured America balanced on the razor's edge. A journey across a dystopian future America, following a team of military-embedded journalists as they race against time to reach DC before rebel factions descend upon the White House.
Alex Garland wrote the screenplay and also directs.