Ray Mendoza spent 16 years serving with the Navy SEALs, receiving a Silver Star for his heroism during the Global War on Terrorism. In his post-military career, he helped Hollywood present a more accurate portrayal of the military, working as an adviser on films such as “Lone Survivor” and series like “The Terminal List.” He even lent his SEAL training to appear onscreen as a member of SEAL Team 5 in 2012’s “Act of Valor,” an action movie that featured real-life special operators in the role of SEALs.
Now, Mendoza’s latest work is an innovative retelling of one of his own stories — this time about an overwatch mission during the Iraq War.
In the upcoming A24 film “Warfare,” Mendoza shares writer and director duties with Alex Garland, who captured the attention of audiences with his 2024 film “Civil War.” The new movie follows a team of SEALs holed up in an Iraqi home, following their action in real time, telling the story of that day from the memories of the American service members who fought their way out of an insurgent attack.
Mendoza and Garland first came together while Mendoza worked as Garland’s military supervisor on the set of “Civil War,” another film produced for the A24 studio. “Warfare” tells one of Mendoza’s personal war stories from his time deployed to Iraq in 2006. The cast includes D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai (“Reservation Dogs”) as Mendoza, along with Will Poulter (“We’re the Millers”), Cosmo Jarvis (“Shogun”), Kit Connor (“Rocketman”), Finn Bennett (“True Detective”), Taylor John Smith (“The Outpost”), Michael Gandolfini (“The Many Saints of Newark”), Noah Centineo (“Black Adam”), Henrique Zaga (“The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare”), Joseph Quinn (“Gladiator II”) and Charles Melton (“Riverdale”).
The trailer doesn’t reveal where the fast-paced conflict happened, but Mendoza has publicly spoken about serving in Ramadi, Iraq. In 2006, Ramadi was the epicenter for insurgent activity related to al-Qaida in Iraq (which would be known as the Islamic State of Iraq in the days that followed), and its then-leader, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. After the city of Fallujah fell in 2004, the Islamic State declared Ramadi its capital. The actual battle for Ramadi lasted eight months, between March and November 2006, and was some of the most intense fighting of the war. The battle also marked the first time a Navy SEAL was killed in combat in Iraq.
“Warfare” will join a mixed slate of movies set amid the Iraq War, a slate with more misses than hits. “The Hurt Locker” was well-received by critics but panned for inaccuracies by veterans. “American Sniper,” based on Navy SEAL Chris Kyle’s memoir of the same name, was received mostly positively by audiences and critics alike, but suffered from inaccuracies and Kyle’s exaggerations. The 2010 film “Green Zone” and 2017’s “Sand Castle” both depicted Iraq War combat, but were met with mixed reviews overall.
All of those films were either based on books or personal recollections of soldiers’ or journalists’ experiences in the war, but none was written by the actual men who formed the “boots on the ground” during a combat operation — and none has attempted to depict the action in real time. Mendoza will be doing that for the first time on film with the help of his fellow SEAL team veterans.
“Warfare” is scheduled for release in 2025.
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