The Dog Stars is the upcoming sci-fi project by acclaimed filmmaker Ridley Scott, based on the popular novel by Peter Heller. The book centers around a lonely pilot, his loyal dog, and a dangerous ex-marine who live in a post-apocalyptic landscape, searching for a better life beyond the stars. The Dog Stars is a very exciting project for Scott, and one that’s filled with potential.
Scott has multiple projects currently in production, including a Bee Gees biopic and two potential franchise returns in Gladiator 3 and a new Alien movie. The director has tackled a wide variety of genres throughout his career, but there’s one specific subgenre that he tends to steer clear of: book-to-movie adaptations.
The Dog Stars Is A Rare Sci-Fi Book Adaptation From Ridley Scott
The Director Has Only Made Two Sci-Fi Book Adaptations Before
Although Scott is certainly comfortable with the sci-fi genre after working on such classics as Alien and Prometheus, the director typically focuses his attention on original stories rather than novel adaptations. His only previous sci-fi book adaptations were Blade Runner and The Martian, which are inspired by novels from Philip K. Dick and Andy Weir, respectively.
Thankfully, The Dog Stars offers the director another opportunity to prove just how talented he is at translating stories from the page to the screen. The process requires a very specific ability to remold and restructure narratives in a way to make them more digestible for a two-hour runtime, and Scott’s secret masterpiece, The Martian, already proved that he knows what he’s doing.
The Dog Stars could be a very different kind of movie if the director sticks with the original tone and atmosphere of Peter Heller’s novel. The book is a very funny, often romantic story that uses its sci-fi concepts and post-apocalyptic landscapes merely as catalysts for this very human story, which is different from the intense world-building of films like Blade Runner.
While there’s no doubt that Scott will manage to bring Heller’s book to life in an interesting way, it’s still going to be an interesting step forward in the director’s career. Instead of the grandeur of Gladiator or the eccentric satire of House of Gucci, the story requires a more tender and restrained level of storytelling that Scott doesn’t often gravitate towards.
However, Scott’s existing filmography should be evidence enough that he’s capable of a loyal, authentic adaptation of The Dog Stars. He’s one of the most versatile and adaptable filmmakers of his generation, tackling a huge variety of genres and styles throughout the decades. The Dog Stars may not be his typical formula, but it’s one that he’s come close to tackling before with movies like The Martian.
