“Alien” Director Ridley Scott to Reunite with “Gladiator II” Star Paul Mescal for 20th Century Studios’ “The Dog Stars”

This will be a film adaptation of the 2012 novel by Peter Heller.

After helming this month’s Gladiator II for Paramount Studios, director Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner, The Martian) has chosen his next project: 20th Century Studios’ film adaptation of the 2012 post-apocalyptic novel The Dog Stars, which will star actor Paul Mescal (All of Us Strangers). This news was first reported in an exclusive story at Deadline.

What’s happening:

  • Acclaimed filmmaker Ridley Scott will be reuniting with his Gladiator II star Paul Mescal for the upcoming adaptation of author Peter Heller’s post-apocalyptic 2012 novel The Dog Stars from the Disney-owned 20th Century Studios.
  • The screenplay for the adaptation will be written by Mark L. Smith, who most famously penned The Revenant in 2015.
  • According to Deadline, the movie will head into production next spring after Mescal completes his run playing Stanley Kowalski in the play A Streetcar Named Desire on Broadway.

What they’re saying:

  • Deadline: “Though Scott and his cast have been engaged in an international tour of Gladiator II before its November 22 release, the iconic director has always had a knack for getting his next project in order once the previous one is finished. Scott has strong ties with 20th Century and its film chief Steve Asbell, going back to films that include The Martian, Prometheus and most recently the hit Alien: Romulus, which Scott produced.”
  • Official Synopsis for The Dog Stars novel: “Hig's wife is gone, his friends are dead, and he lives in the hangar of a small abandoned airport with his dog, Jasper, and a mercurial, gun-toting misanthrope named Bangley. But when a random transmission beams through the radio of his 1956 Cessna, the voice ignites a hope deep inside him that a better life exists outside their tightly controlled perimeter. Risking everything, he flies past his point of no return and follows its static-broken trail, only to find something that is both better and worse than anything he could ever hope for.”

For further updates on all things 20th Century Studios, be sure to check right here at LaughingPlace.com.

Mike Celestino
Mike serves as Laughing Place's lead Southern California reporter, Editorial Director for Star Wars content, and host of the weekly "Who's the Bossk?" Star Wars podcast. He's been fascinated by Disney theme parks and storytelling in general all his life and resides in Burbank, California with his beloved wife and cats.