Ridley Scott brought The Dog Stars to London's Odeon Luxe on Thursday for the film's world premiere. Jacob Elordi, Josh Brolin, Margaret Qualley, and Guy Pearce attended alongside Scott at Leicester Square, ahead of the film's wide release on August 28.
Based on Peter Heller's 2012 novel and adapted for the screen by Mark L. Smith, the film follows a civilian pilot and a hardened ex-Marine navigating a world dismantled by pandemic. 20th Century Studios distributes the film.
Elordi joined the production in January 2025, replacing Paul Mescal, who exited due to scheduling conflicts with Sam Mendes' Beatles biopics. At the premiere, reporters pressed him on James Bond audition rumors. His response: "I'm here on holiday."
He was warmer on working with Scott. "He's the king of movies," Elordi said. "He's one of a kind and he's a pioneer of modern cinema." The collaboration, he added, was "such a treat — a dream come true."
Josh Brolin offered the less diplomatic account. He nearly walked off the production after day one, telling Empire Magazine he texted his agent: "I want out. Something's really wrong, and I've got to get the f–k out of here." Scott's preference for minimal rehearsals unsettled him. He stayed, and his read on the experience changed. "It became one of the more creative, satisfying projects that I've ever been involved with," Brolin said, characterizing the shoot as "stratospherically creative and stratospherically dangerous."
The Dog Stars opens wide on August 28.
