In theaters on August 28th is ‘The Dog Stars,’ the latest film from director Ridley Scott, which adapts the post-apocalyptic novel by Peter Heller.The cast for the movie includes Jacob Elordi (‘Frankenstein’), Josh Brolin (‘Dune’), Guy Pearce (‘Memento’), Allison Janney (‘The Help’) and Benedict Wong (‘The Martian’).
In theaters on August 28th is ‘The Dog Stars,’ the latest film from director Ridley Scott, which adapts the post-apocalyptic novel by Peter Heller.The cast for the movie includes Jacob Elordi (‘Frankenstein’), Josh Brolin (‘Dune’), Guy Pearce (‘Memento’), Allison Janney (‘The Help’) and Benedict Wong (‘The Martian’).
Jacob Elordi as Hig in 20th Century Studios’ ‘The Dog Stars’. Photo by Fabio Lovino. © 2026 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
In theaters on August 28th is ‘The Dog Stars,’ the latest film from director Ridley Scott, which adapts the post-apocalyptic novel by Peter Heller.
The cast for the movie includes Jacob Elordi (‘Frankenstein’), Josh Brolin (‘Dune’), Guy Pearce (‘Memento’), Allison Janney (‘The Help’) and Benedict Wong (‘The Martian’).
Initial Thoughts
(L to R) Jacob Elordi as Hig and Margaret Qualley as Cima in 20th Century Studios’ ‘The Dog Stars’. Photo by Fabio Lovino. © 2026 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
Ridley Scott knows how to make great motion pictures; we know this. Sadly, his more recent career has been something of a hit-and-miss affair, even the recent ‘Gladiator II’ couldn’t hit the heights of its predecessor.
And unfortunately, his latest effort won’t do much to change the opinion that the director’s better days might be behind him. It’s a strictly workmanlike effort, decently shot (with some beautiful Italian backdrops subbing in for post-apocalyptic Colorado), and with a solid cast, but gives them little that feels fresh for the post-apocalyptic genre.
Script and Direction
Jacob Elordi as Hig in 20th Century Studios’ ‘The Dog Stars’. Photo by Fabio Lovino. © 2026 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
‘The Revenant’s Mark L. Smith adapts Heller’s 2012 novel, with the story set in 2035 after a flu pandemic has ravaged the world, killing off most of the humans. Yet even with a good screenwriter aboard, ‘The Dog Stars’ is proof that you can still make something that feels basic and unsatisfying. Everything here is seen-it-before stuff: the haunted hero, the grizzled survivalist buddy, the winsome love interest, the wild raiders, even the loyal dog.
And while Scott still has an eye for imagery, there’s very little to impress.
Cast and Performances
(L to R) Jacob Elordi as Hig and Josh Brolin as Bangley in 20th Century Studios’ ‘The Dog Stars’. Photo by Fabio Lovino. © 2026 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
Elordi gives good, rugged hero (with the requisite tragic backstory), but Hig is an off-the-peg type, and that feels true for every role here –– Josh Brolin’s grumpy ex-military man Bangley and Guy Pearce’s gruff rancher Pops are mirrors of each other and none of them are all that convincing.
Final Thoughts
Margaret Qualley as Cima in 20th Century Studios’ ‘The Dog Stars’. Photo by Fabio Lovino. © 2026 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
Bland and disappointingly generic, ‘The Dog Stars’ comes across as something that could have been made by any random director, not someone with as much proven talent as Ridley Scott.
It’s also neither very thrilling or convincingly heartfelt. More of a dog’s breakfast, then.
‘The Dog Stars’ receives65 out of 100.
Josh Brolin as Bangley in 20th Century Studios’ ‘The Dog Stars’. Photo by Fabio Lovino. © 2026 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
What is the plot of ‘The Dog Stars’?
After the world’s population has been ravaged by a pandemic, a man lives a lonesome existence in a Colorado airplane hangar with his dog and a dour gunman he has befriended. When a mysterious transmission comes through on the radio while he’s flying his old Cessna, it sparks a hunt for the provenance of the sound.
Who is in the cast of ‘The Dog Stars’?
Jacob Elordi as HigJosh Brolin as BangleyMargaret Qualley as CimaAllison Janney as DarleneGuy Pearce as PopsBenedict Wong as Aaron
‘The Dog Stars’ opens in theaters on August 28th.
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