Ridley Scott’s post-apocalyptic The Dog Stars drops first trailer

[Karlston]

“The world that was, doesn’t exist. It’s just us, trying to hold onto what was.”

 

Post-apocalyptic scenarios are a longtime staple of science fiction, and director Ridley Scott’s latest film, The Dog Stars, falls firmly into that subgenre. Based on Peter Heller’s critically acclaimed 2012 novel, the story depicts the aftermath of a deadly flu virus that wiped out most of humanity. The studio released the first trailer at CinemaCon, introduced by a video message from Scott, who said that his adaptation “is particularly tailored for the big screen. Every frame, I hope, will really blow you away.”

 

Per the official logline, the film is “a riveting, epic thriller set in a world where survival is instinct, but humanity is a choice. Scott tells the story of Hig, a young pilot who, together with a military survivalist, Bangley, has carved out an efficient but isolated homestead in a brutal post-apocalyptic world until a mysterious radio transmission spurs Hig to venture into the unknown in search of the hope and humanity he still believes exists.”

 

Jacob Elordi stars as Hig, alongside Josh Brolin as Bangley; Margaret Qualley plays a young medic named Cima; and Guy Pearce is a former Navy SEAL Pops who also happens to be Cima’s father. Allison Janney and Benedict Wong will also appear in as-yet-undisclosed roles. (Janney, clad in what looks like a vintage stewardess uniform, briefly appears in the trailer.)

 

The trailer opens with a glimpse of what life was like before a deadly virus ravaged the world. We briefly see Hig and his pregnant wife with their new puppy, Jasper, before the screen cuts to the same bedroom, now darkened, and Hig sitting alone and despondent on the bed. His wife has died, although he still has Jasper. When Cima asks Hig what he remembers about the day the world ended, he replies, “I was kissing my wife. Playing with my dog. Wondering every day how I got so lucky.” Cima counters with the observation that perhaps the survivors need something to haunt them, “otherwise you might get lonely.”

 

When Hig comes across the mysterious transmission, Bangley tells him there’s nothing worth finding out there. “What do you expect to find? Happy people everywhere? The world that was doesn’t exist. It’s just us, trying to hold onto what was.” Bangley seems temperamentally well-suited to the new dystopian reality. But Hig has to believe that there is something better, and he sets out in his small yellow plane to find it. Judging from all the shooting and chase scenes, Hig has his work cut out proving that his optimism in humanity is justified.

 

The Dog Stars opens in theaters on August 28, 2026.

Credit: 20th Century Studios

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Posted Saturday 18 April 2026 at 7:24 am AEST (my time).

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