Margaret Qualley, Josh Brolin, And Guy Pearce Join Ridley Scott Apocalyptic Thriller The Dog Stars

Margaret Qualley, Josh Brolin, and Guy Pearce are three actors who've had a pretty damn solid last twelve months. As stars of The Substance, Dune: Part Two, and The Brutalist respectively, the trio have each seen their movies land with fans and critics alike, leading to their presence being keenly felt during this year's awards run-in. And now, according to Deadline's reporting, the three are in final talks to join forces and feature alongside Jacob Elordi in Sir Ridley Scott's upcoming apocalyptic thriller The Dog Stars.

Back in November we first shared word that Scott was eyeing an adaptation of Peter Heller's bestseller, with The Revenant scribe Mark L. Smith and Ali's Christopher Wilkinson tackling the script and the filmmaker's _Gladiator II_muse Paul Mescal set to lead the project. Then, when Mescal dropped out in early January to go play Paul McCartney in Sam Mendes' Beatles biopics, Ridders turned to in-demand Aussie Elordi to take on the role of protagonist Hig. A civilian pilot holed up in an abandoned aircraft hangar with his dog in a near-future, pandemic ravaged America, Hig has his bubble existence popped when he meets ex-marine Bangley (Brolin). Before long, the unlikely twosome's world opens up further as a mysterious transmission encourages Hig to travel beyond the perimeters of his hangar homestead, and — per Deadline's plot description — into the path of Cima (Qualley), a young doctor and the daughter of a disillusioned rancher (Pearce).

The last we heard, shooting on this one is set to get underway sometime this Spring, which is very much in keeping with Scott's prodigious work rate and general aversion to letting a good thing go undone if he can help it. And coming off the back of a string of high profile period pieces from Scott in the shape of Gladiator II, Napoleon, House Of Gucci, and The Last Duel, the prospect of a return to sci-fi/speculative fiction territory for the Alien and The Martian filmmaker is a very exciting one indeed. Throw in a cast of bona fide stars at the top of their game and, well, you'd have to be barking not to want to see how The Dog Stars turns out. If it's half as good as the book, then don't be surprised to see this decorated lot coming to another awards circuit near you real soon.