Warfare: What We Know About The Next Alex Garland And Ray Mendoza Movie Starring Charles Melton
Get ready for another epic war movie.
Alex Garland is coming out with another film with Ray Mendoza – This is what we know so far about Warfare.
Garland is a director who has worked on and created some of the best films of the last twenty years. Whether he's written them, like 28 Days Later (which is getting a sequel called 28 Years Later), or directed them, such as the latest release, Civil War, Garland is great at what he does. Now, he will be coming out with another new film with Ray Mendoza, with whom he worked on Civil War.
But what will this film be about? And who will star? This is what we know so far about Warfare.
What Is The Warfare Release Date?
At the time of writing this, May 2024, there is no set release date for Warfare. The film will not be part of the 2024 movie schedule. While casting announcements have been confirmed, we do not have a trailer or an idea of when it will be released—but hopefully, that means we'll get some more updates soon.
Charles Melton, D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Kit Connor, And More Will Star In The Warfare Cast
While we may not know when Warfare will come out, we know that the Warfare cast is already stacked to the brim with stars. Here is who we know so far will appear in the film:
Charles Melton
Reported by Deadline in early February 2024, Charles Melton was in talks to star in the film. The movie's name had yet to be released at the time, but now we know it is called Warfare.
Melton gained fame in 2023 for his performance in May December, but many fans may also know him from his seven-season run on Riverdale, one of the most popular CW shows.
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Joseph Quinn
In mid-February 2024, Deadline reported that Joseph Quinn was in talks to star in Warfare. The actor has had a colossal career boost over the last few years when he had an all-star role in Stranger Things Season 4, where he played fan-favorite Eddie Munson.
From there, he's only taken on more roles in several upcoming films. These include the highly anticipated Fantastic Four, the new prequel A Quiet Place: Day One, and the sequel to Gladiator.
D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai as Ray Mendoza
Deadline reported in March 2024 that D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai would play Ray Mendoza in the upcoming film. Yes, Ray Mendoza is the name of one of the co-directors – which we will get into in just a bit with the plot section. Mendoza was a member of the Navy, specifically Seal Team 5.
D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai is primarily known for his role on Reservation Dogs, where he plays Bear Smallhill. He's also appeared in Murdoch Mysteries, Creeped Out, and more.
Kit Conner
In late March 2024, Deadline reported four additional cast members for Warfare. The first is Kit Conner. He is primarily known for his starring role in Heartstopper, which is getting a Season 3 in 2024.
Cosmo Jarvis
Cosmo Jarvis was also confirmed by Deadline in late March 2024. Jarvis recently starred in the critically acclaimed miniseries Shōgun on FX, where he played John Blackthorne, a character who had a forbidden romance with one of the leads and was essential to the plot.
Will Poulter
Deadline confirmed that Will Poulter had signed on for Warfare. He co-starred in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in 2023 but has appeared in films like The Maze Runner franchise, Dopesick, one of the best A24 horror movies, Midsommar, and many more.
Finn Bennett
Deadline also confirmed that Finn Bennett would join the cast of Warfare. The actor is primarily known for his role in True Detective: Night Country but has also appeared in other TV shows like Top Boy, The Nevers, and more.
Talk about a stacked cast – one that makes me so excited for what's to come. So far, almost all of their roles have not been disclosed (aside from Woon-A-Tai), so we'll have to wait and see who they play.
The Film's Focus Is Under Wraps – But There Are Clues That It's Based On A Real Story
So, as Deadline reported in the late March 2024 article, the story for Warfare is being kept under wraps at this time, but from clues, it's based on a real-life situation.
Since Woon-A-Tai is playing a character who shares a name with the real-life co-directors, and Warfare is an upcoming war movie, it'll presumably be based on a real-life story.
According to Deadline, Mendoza was an instructor for the Land Warfare Training Detachment and BUD/s and was awarded a Silver Star for his work in the army during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2006.
The film's title is Warfare, so it seems like this film could be based on a real operation.
Alex Garland And Ray Mendoza Will Co-Direct And Write
The Deadline article also confirmed with the Charles Melton news that Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza will co-direct and write Warfare.
This will be their second collaboration, as Mendoza worked as a military supervisor for Civil War.
A24 Will Handle The Global Release Of The Film
The last thing we know from the Charles Melton news at Deadline is that Warfare will be distributed by A24 – which is quite honestly great news for the film.
Alex Garland has worked with A24 for many years now. He released Civil War with the film company and several of his other prominent films, like Men and Ex Machina.
Truthfully, even if Garland hadn't worked with A24 before, I'd have complete faith that they would handle it well. A24 has released some of the best films of the last decade. Many of their movies have been critically acclaimed or highly successful. There are plenty of great A24 films I could point to – Everything, Everywhere, All At Once, the brilliant coming-of-age movie Lady Bird, The Whale, Hereditary, Moonlight, The Farewell, and so many others.
Honestly, this excites me – and now I need to know more.
What are you looking forward to with Warfare? I need to brush up on my war movies because I feel Warfare will be epic with this cast.
A self-proclaimed nerd and lover of Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire, Alexandra Ramos is a Content Producer at CinemaBlend. She first started off working in December 2020 as a Freelance Writer after graduating from the Pennsylvania State University with a degree in Journalism and a minor in English. She primarily works in features for movies, TV, and sometimes video games. (Please don't debate her on The Last of Us 2, it was amazing!) She is also the main person who runs both our daily newsletter, The CinemaBlend Daily, and our ReelBlend newsletter.
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