Ridley Scott’s new sci-fi venture, arriving this year, takes him into a gritty post-apocalyptic world with a star-studded adaptation of The Dog Stars.
After directing several sci-fi films like Alien, Blade Runner, Prometheus, The Martian, and Alien: Covenant, Scott is diving back into the sci-fi genrewith a big-screen adaptation of Peter Heller’s 2012 novel, set after a virus creates a disastrous environment for humanity. The project was first announced in 2024.
Esquire has now unveiled the first images of The Dog Stars, which reveal actors Jacob Elordi, Margaret Qualley, and Josh Brolin in a devastated post-apocalyptic society.
In the first photo, Elordi’s character, a civilian pilot named Hig, rests his back against a yellow Cessna airplane. The second image shows Hig and Qualley’s Cima sitting around a campfire, with the plane in the background. The final image features Hig and Brolin’s gun-expert character, Bangley, standing in a field, with the former holding a gun against his leg amid a mountainous backdrop. Check out the images from The Dog Stars below:
The Dog Stars centers on Hig, his dog, and Bangley as they are forced to fight off invaders. One day, the pilot hears a strange message on the radio while flying his plane and decides to figure out the source of the transmission.
According to Scott, Hig is “Gregory Peck on steroids,” and Elordi brought a sort of elegance and presence to the character that Peck had. The actor is just coming off an awards season that saw him nominated at the Oscars, Golden Globes, and Actor Awards for his role in Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein.
“He may get pissed off, but I kept saying, ‘This is Gregory Peck on steroids.’ He’s got an elegance that Peck had, and a presence that Peck had, that not many have. He’s blessed with that.”
Meanwhile, Brolin told Esquire that his character, Bangley, is “fiercely protective of the things that he loves.” He is an honor-bound individual who is “all about protection” and “integrity.”
Neither Hig nor Bangley fully trusts the other, but the latter has decided to safeguard the pilot and his dog because “he lives his life in the razor sharpness of integrity.” They are opposites in many ways, and resentment between the two eventually develops, especially when Hig keeps putting himself in danger by flying the Cessna on scouting missions.
“I see him as someone who is fiercely protective of the things that he loves, that he loves deeply. The few things he is able to love.”
“They don’t come across as loved through Bangley. They come across as an irritant that he has to adhere to because that is where his honor lies. He is about honor. He is all about protection. He is all about integrity. He lives his life in the razor sharpness of integrity.”
Aside from searching for supplies and hunting locations, Hig also uses his away time to create bonds with the Mennonites, who are the people infected by the virus. Benedict Wong plays a head Mennonite who hides out with his group in a tucked-away valley. Hig discovers their existence when he flies over and spots cattle and children. “He figures if you’ve got children, that you’re harmless,” Scott explains.
“You might say if there was a head Mennonite, it’s Benedict. Somehow they were lucky in having a valley that can only really be spotted from the air, or by a very rough cart track. That’s how Benedict hid, and how Elordi gradually got to know that they were there. He’d fly over and once saw cattle, and then children. He figures if you’ve got children, that you’re harmless.”
Hig and Cima’s paths cross on one of Hig’s scouting missions. Qualley’s character, who is a medic, doesn’t interact with many people outside of her father (Guy Pearce), but once she meets Hig, an attraction develops.
The two act very awkwardly around each other, which came naturally to the two actors. “I think that Jacob and I are both real awkward,” Qualley admitted, “so we didn’t have to put any of that on. That part came a little too easy.”
“I think that Jacob and I are both real awkward, so we didn’t have to put any of that on. That part came a little too easy.”
Scott, who most recently helmed Gladiator II, directed The Dog Stars from a script by Mark L. Smith. The filmmaker and screenwriter also produced the sci-fi flick with Michael Pruss and Cliff Roberts.
The Dog Stars will be released in theaters on Friday, August 28, 2026.
Birthdate
November 30, 1937
Birthplace
South Shields, County Durham, England
Height
5 feet 8 inches
Professions
Film Director, Producer
Discover the latest news and filmography for Ridley Scott, known for Gladiator and Blade Runner.