One of 2024’s standout action films was Alex Garland’s ‘Civil War.’ Although mostly a road trip-style film following journalists as they moved closer to the front lines of a second American Civil War, the depictions of combat itself were harrowing. From skirmishes in office parks to a large combined arms battle for Washington, D.C. and close-quarters fighting inside the White House, the action was brought to life by the film’s military advisor Ray Mendoza. Mendoza, a former Navy SEAL who served for 16 years, mapped out and choreographed the combat scenes, bringing in several veterans to play combatants and give the film’s action more verisimilitude.
Now Mendoza is co-directing and co-writing Garland’s follow-up film, the upcoming Iraq War action thriller ‘Warfare.’ The film comes out in 2025 and the first trailer was released today.
The film follows a team of Navy SEALs during the Iraq War in 2006, taking shelter inside an Iraqi family’s home. When they find themselves surrounded and teammates seriously wounded, it becomes a fight for survival. Outside of what looks like some scenes before their mission, the bulk of the film looks to be set entirely during combat. According to studio A24, the film takes place in real time, following the SEALs as they try to break out and link back up with other American troops.
When talking to Task & Purpose earlier this year about ‘Civil War,’ Mendoza was tight lipped on ‘Warfare’’s content, but said the film came out of conversations with Garland while making ‘Civil War.’ Garland was mentoring him while Mendoza mapped out and choreographed action scenes, and the two talked about what he wanted to do in the filmmaking industry.
“There’s a lot of stories I want to tell, military in nature. Stories from the regiment, Special Forces, SEAL teams there’s a lot of military stories I want to tell that I feel need to be told,” Mendoza said. “We discussed that and there’s a story I picked that he felt would be a good one to tell.”
The film is based in part on Mendoza’s own experiences in Iraq. Mendoza earned a Silver Star for actions during the Battle of Ramadi in 2006 when his unit was pinned down under similar circumstances. It’s not clear from the first trailer how close to that incident the film will be — the studio and writers have been quiet about plot details prior to the trailer release but the tagline notes that “everything is based on memory.” Regardless, the film looks like it is not pulling back from some of the injuries taken or the brutality of the combat. Mendoza and Garland’s previous collaboration, combined with the close-quarters setting of this film, means that ‘Warfare’ is likely to be an intense and visceral experience.
The film stars D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai (‘Reservation Dogs’), Will Poulter (‘Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3’), Joseph Quinn (‘Stranger Things’) and Cosmo Jarvis (‘Shogun’), among others.
‘Warfare’ will be released in theaters in 2025.