In the Civil War film starring Kirsten Dunst, a dystopian America is on the brink of war… as several states secede from the union

A24 has released a new trailer for their highly anticipated drama Civil War, from acclaimed writer-director Alex Garland.

The filmmaker behind hits like 28 Days Later, Ex Machina and Annihilation writes and directs this dystopian drama in which various areas have seceded from America.

The film stars Kirsten Dunst, Nick Offerman, Wagner Moura, Cailee Spaeny, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Sonoya Mizuno and Nelson Lee, with rumors of a three-hour running time recently dispelled.

A24 will release the film on April 12, a date that has a lot of historical significance with the real-life Civil War.

It was on April 12, 1861 when Confederate forces fired on Fort Sumter, South Carolina, which many historians consider the beginning of the Civil War.

The film stars Kirsten Dunst, Nick Offerman, Wagner Moura, Cailee Spaeny, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Sonoya Mizuno and Nelson Lee

A24 will release the film on April 12, a date that has a lot of historical significance with the real-life Civil War

The trailer opens with the President of the United States (Offerman) addressing the country and those who have seceded.

“Citizens of America, people of the Florida Alliance and the western forces of Texas and California,” he begins, as we see images of civilians at war.

He adds that they “will be welcome back to these United States once their illegal, secessionist party is deposed,” as we see Dunst's character, a journalist.

Wagner Moura's character tells a sniper and his scout, “You don't know which side they're fighting for,” although the scout has an answer.

'Someone is trying to kill us. We're trying to kill them,” he says, as the sniper fires a shot, while a photographer (Cailee Spaeny) looks on.

The trailer continues with more random shots of this war-torn country, including a shot of Dunst and Spaeny sitting together in the stands of a football stadium, the field now filled with tents.

Parts of the trailer show someone whistling America the Beautiful as this war rages on, while we see footage of a military convoy driving down the road with helicopter escorts.

Meanwhile, mortars are deployed on the city's rooftops, while Moura, Dunst and Spaeny all try to relax in a camp, where they let off some steam with liquor and cigarettes.

Wagner Moura's character tells a sniper and his scout, “You don't know which side they're fighting for,” even though the scout has an answer

The trailer continues with more random shots of this war-torn country, including a shot of Dunst and Spaeny sitting together in the stands of a football stadium, the field now filled with tents.

Meanwhile, mortars are deployed on the city's rooftops, while Moura, Dunst and Spaeny all try to relax in a camp, where they let off some steam with liquor and cigarettes.

Another shot shows Spaeny screaming in fear while in a vehicle, although it is unclear what she is actually responding to.

The trailer escalates with tanks on the street and gunfire erupting before a final dramatic shot: a missile fired at the Lincoln Memorial, destroying it.

Garland said in an interview that the film is “set at some indeterminate point in the future — just far enough ahead to add a conceit — and serves as a science fiction allegory for our currently polarized situation.”

It was also revealed that Civil War has become A24's most expensive film to date with a budget of $50 million.