Paul Mescal has been cast in Ridley Scott’s next movie, The Dog Stars.
Mescal will soon be seen playing Lucius Verus in Scott’s Gladiator II, which releases in United States theaters on November 22, 2024, and is a sequel to 2000’s Gladiator.
Per Deadline, Scott and Mescal are now reteaming for another movie, The Dog Stars, which is an adaptation of a 2012 novel written by Peter Heller.
What do we know about The Dog Stars?
It was previously believed that Scott’s next movie would be a Bee Gees biopic for Paramount; however, according to Deadline, Mescal “found a sweet spot for the busy actor to re-team with Scott, and that is why they’ve set this as their next collaboration.” Following the film’s production, Mescal is starring in A Streetcar Named Desire on Broadway.
The movie, which will be distributed by 20th Century Studios, is now expected to begin filming next spring, while the Bee Gees movie will “likely” follow for Scott in fall 2025.
“The Dog Stars is set in a near future where an unnamed pandemic has decimated American society,” a description of the plot reads. “A civilian pilot lives a lonely life on an abandoned Colorado airbase with his dog and a tough ex-marine. The two men couldn’t be more mismatched but depend on each other to fend off roaming invaders. When a random transmission beams through the radio of his 1956 Cessna, the voice ignites a hope deep inside the pilot 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.”
The script for The Dog Stars is being written by Mark L. Smith (The Revenant, Twisters). Smith also will produce the movie alongside Cliff Roberts and Scott Free.
A release date for The Dog Stars has not yet been announced by 20th Century Studios.
