In a near-future America torn apart by internal conflict, the President rallies citizens against the secessionist Florida Alliance and Western Forces of California and Texas. Alex Garland, known for his work on “28 Days Later,” “Ex Machina,” “Annihilation,” and the FX series “Devs,” writes and directs an A24 film set amid the escalating Second American Civil War. Kirsten Dunst stars as a photojournalist and war veteran navigating a dystopian landscape. The ensemble cast includes Wagner Moura (“Narcos”), Jesse Plemons (“Killers of the Flower Moon”), Stephen McKinley Henderson (“Dune”), Cailee Spaeny (“Priscilla”), Sonoya Mizuno (“Devs”), and Nick Offerman (“The Last of Us”).

Garland describes the film as set in an ambiguous future, serving as a sci-fi allegory for contemporary societal divisions. Framestore, supported by an in-house team from TPO, handles approximately 1,000 VFX shots, capturing intense urban warfare scenes, including the destruction of the Lincoln Memorial. VFX Supervisor David Simpson highlights the effectiveness of a smaller team, emphasizing collaborative synergy in achieving the film’s vision.

“Civil War” unfolds as a road movie, demanding a grounded approach to world-building akin to documentary realism. Simpson underscores the importance of real locations and a populated environment to maintain believability amid constant narrative and geographic shifts.

The primary VFX challenge centered on replicating Washington D.C. Simpson elaborates, “Initially, our plan was to scout locations in Atlanta that could double for Washington D.C., but it quickly became clear that this approach wouldn’t suffice—neither in terms of aesthetics nor logistics. Consequently, we shifted gears to constructing several sets and extending them digitally through VFX. We built three sets in an Atlanta parking lot: Pennsylvania Avenue, the Lincoln Memorial, and 17th Street. On-Set Supervisor Chris Zeh and I marked out scaled-down roads with tape, as the space couldn’t accommodate a 1:1 scale. Each set was a single story tall, with one or two buildings deep. Subsequently, our VFX Producer Michelle Rose and Lead Wrangler Corey Burkes traveled to D.C. to capture real locations for Framestore to recreate digitally.”

Reflecting on the process, Simpson adds, “As we witnessed the city taking shape, the results were so impressive that we decided to feature it in several key aerial shots. Whenever we depict helicopter scenes over Washington D.C., it’s entirely CG. The level of detail is extraordinary. Led by CG Supervisor Freddy Salazar, our environments team not only built a cityscape but a complete war zone. The digital landscape includes ongoing skirmishes with gunfire and explosions, alongside tanks, Humvees, and police vehicles in motion.”