The ever-prolific Ridley Scott’s next film is right around the corner, which feels like a sentence that’s been true for most of the last 20 years. The Dog Stars, a post-apocalyptic survival story, is coming to theaters on Aug. 28. The movie’s latest trailer shows desolate vistas and gunfights against Mad Max-style raiders.
One of the film’s most obvious draws is its star-studded cast, which balances up-and-comers with seasoned hands. Jacob Elordi stars as Hig, a pilot hunting down the origin of a mysterious radio broadcast after a pandemic wipes out much of humanity. Josh Brolin will play Bangley, an ex-Marine and Hig’s companion, while Margaret Qualley is the medic Cima. Guy Pearce, Benedict Wong, and Allison Janney round out the cast.
The movie is based on Peter Heller’s 2012 novel of the same name, with Mark L. Smith (Twisters, The Revenant) handling the adapted screenplay. Erik Messerschmidt (The Killer, Ferrari) is the cinematographer, and Harry Gregson-Williams (Metal Gear Solid, Chronicles of Narnia) is composing.
While post-apocalyptic fiction is evergreen, stories about deadly infectious diseases have obviously taken on a different tenor given recent events. Smith and Scott are likely aware of this, and it will be worth paying attention to how they stick to or deviate from the events of Peter Heller’s pre-pandemic novel. While the film’s source material predates The Last of Us and its HBO adaptation, the trailer’s imagery of overgrown cities and rugged survivors certainly evokes Joel and Ellie’s trek across America, something the filmmakers may work in conversation with.
Despite being well into his eighties, Ridley Scott’s output hasn’t slowed down in the slightest. With The Dog Stars, he’ll have directed five films in the last five years, the others being The Last Duel, House of Gucci, Napoleon, and Gladiator 2. After a run of historical (or mostly historical) escapades, he’s dipping back into his bread and butter of speculative fiction for the first time since Alien: Covenant. The world may end tomorrow, but until then, it seems like Scott will keep pumping out movies at an impressive clip.
