The Dog Stars (2026)

Hideo Kojima admits he went into the film expecting a Cormac McCarthy-style epic because he had kept the original novel on his bookshelf for years without reading it.

Jacob Elordi took over the role in Ridley Scott’s The Dog Stars after Paul Mescal left due to scheduling conflicts.

The protagonist's 1956 Cessna 182, known as"the Beast," is identical in color, tail number, and name to the actual plane author Peter Heller still keeps in a hangar at the same Colorado airport featured in the film.

Ridley Scott’s return to the science‑fiction arena with The Dog Stars has turned into a financial disaster, pulling in just about $21 million worldwide against a $70 million production budget. The shortfall of more than $100 million places the film far below its break‑even point, echoing the commercial struggles of his recent historical epics, Gladiator II and Napoleon, which also failed to recoup their massive costs. The box‑office disappointment comes after a long hiatus from the genre for Scott, whose last sci‑fi outing was 2017’s Alien: Covenant. Yet the director’s relationship with the Alien franchise has softened: he’s now co‑developing a new prequel with Michael Fassbender, centered on the enigmatic synthetic David, whose god‑like arc has haunted the series. Meanwhile, the Alien saga is expanding on the small screen. Disney+ confirmed that Alien: Earth Season 2 is officially in production, with creator Noah Hawley returning to helm the series. The upcoming season will feature a high‑profile reunion of Game of Thrones alumni Peter Dinklage and Jerome Flynn, underscoring the franchise’s push to attract top talent and deepen its long‑form storytelling. Despite The Dog Stars’ stark underperformance, Scott’s renewed focus on the Alien universe suggests a strategic pivot toward television and prequel narratives, aiming to restore his sci‑fi legacy and give fans fresh entry points into the iconic franchise.