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For the past 20 years, we sure have spent a lot of time imagining the end of the world. From The Hunger Games to The Walking Dead to Snowpiercer, pop culture has been obsessed with describing the fall of civilization and the bloody aftermath that follows. Generally, these stories follow a pretty familiar pattern, with fleeting moments of safety and kindness interrupted by violence and humanity at its worst.
But the first trailer for The Dog Stars suggests that Ridley Scott has something else in mind. The trailer introduces Jacob Elordi as Hig, a pilot living after the fall of civilization with his dog, the one remnant of his happy marriage in the before-times. While his partner Bangley (Josh Brolin) has a heart cold enough to survive, Hig desires something more, and may find it with medic Cima (Margaret Qualley). Set to a slower version of Van Morrison’s “Into the Mystic,” the trailer is all optimism and hope, despite the cruel surroundings.
Hope is built into the source material, the 2012 novel by Peter Heller. The book became a hit not just because it met the expectations of the post-apocalyptic genre, including depictions of the way humans can mistreat one another, but also because of its humor and its poetic depiction of a soulful hero. If Scott can translate those elements to screen, then The Dog Stars may be able to add another hit to his incredible career.
The Dog Stars‘s timing couldn’t be better, as moviegoers are ready to find hope at the end of the world. Based on the novel by Andy Weir. Project Hail Mary has been a favorite among audiences precisely because it sets a delightful buddy comedy between Ryan Gosling and his puppet pal against the backdrop of impending doom. That movie suggests that the apocalypse can be canceled if you’ve got a good friend by your side.
But, of course, Project Hail Mary is directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, two filmmakers known for their carefree projects. The same definitely cannot be said of Ridley Scott. Even before he became the delightfully grouchy old man he is today, Scott had no problem getting bleak, as demonstrated by the company putting profits over people in Alien, the general dourness of Blade Runner, and the military incompetence on display in Black Hawk Down. Even those who find some triumph in the ending of Thelma & Louise have to acknowledge that the duo does drive off a cliff.
That said, Scott did helm The Martian, an optimistic adventure also based on a Weir book. If Scott can stay in that tone for The Dog Stars then he can continue to give us hope in hard times, and maybe score another box office hit for himself.
The Dog Stars arrives in theaters on August 28, 2026.
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