The Dog Stars opens in US theaters on August 28, 2026, 94 days from today, distributed by 20th Century Studios.
Ridley Scott directs from a screenplay by Mark L. Smith, adapting Peter Heller's acclaimed 2012 novel of the same name. Principal photography ran from April to June 2025, shot across Italy and at Pinewood Studios in the UK. The film runs 118 minutes, with cinematography from Erik Messerschmidt and a score from Harry Gregson-Williams.
Heller's novel follows Hig, a civilian pilot who has survived a flu pandemic that has wiped out most of humanity, living out of a small Colorado airport hangar with his dog and Bangley, a hardened, heavily armed neighbor he has come to depend on for protection. A mysterious radio transmission sends Hig chasing the possibility that another functioning, decent life exists somewhere beyond his fenced perimeter. The film casts Jacob Elordi as Hig and Josh Brolin as Bangley, with Margaret Qualley, Guy Pearce, Allison Janney and Benedict Wong.
Heller's novel earned attention for refusing the genre's usual grimness: its prose is spare and lyrical, and its central relationship, between a gentle pilot and a violent survivalist who becomes something like a father figure, sits closer to elegy than action thriller. Scott adapting it is notable in itself; his recent run has favored large-scale historical spectacle, and The Dog Stars is a smaller, more interior story about grief and companionship after collapse.
What's confirmed: the cast, the director, the screenwriter, the distributor, the 118-minute runtime, and the August 28, 2026 US date. What remains unclear is the marketing rollout and how closely the script follows the novel's fragmented, present-tense narration. No trailer has been released as of this writing, so tone and pacing are still unverified.
