Ridley Scott Re-Teaming with Paul Mescal for ‘The Dog Stars’

The ever-prolific director is ready to work once more with Mescal on an adaptation of a Peter Heller novel set in a devastated world.

Director Ridley Scott and Paul Mescal on the set of 'Gladiator II' from Paramount Pictures.

Preview:

‘Gladiator II’ director Ridley Scott is re-teaming with that film’s star Paul Mescal for a new movie.
Mescal will star in ‘The Dog Stars.’
It’s the story of a man on a mission in a dangerous near-future world.

Ridley Scott and his ‘Gladiator II’ star Paul Mescal clearly enjoyed a solid collaboration on the incoming Roman epic sequel.

How else to explain the fact that they’re both clearing space in busy calendars to re-team on a new movie called ‘The Dog Stars’?

With both Scott and Mescal out stumping for the ‘Gladiator’ sequel, Deadline reports that Scott has decided to next make the adaptation of Peter Heller’s 2012 post-apocalyptic novel.

What’s the story of ‘The Dog Stars’?

Paul Mescal plays Lucius in 'Gladiator II' from Paramount Pictures.

Adapted by ‘The Revenant’s Mark L. Smith, ‘The Dog Stars’ is set in a near future where an unnamed pandemic has decimated American society.

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 new movie will squeeze into a potential spring filming spot for the director, who as always has been juggling a number of potential projects. It appears this will leapfrog ahead of his planned Bee Gees biopic.

Mescal, meanwhile, will be taking to the Broadway stage this winter, in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire.’ Mescal is reprising his turn as Stanley Kowalski from the praised London production.

Scott has also expressed an interest in reuniting with Mescal for another project, one even more closely linked to their new release –– a third ‘Gladiator’ outing, as reported recently.

What has happened with ‘Gladiator III’ so far?

Paul Mescal plays Lucius in 'Gladiator II' from Paramount Pictures.

While a third ‘Gladiator’ movie is strictly at the discussion stage right now, Scott told France’s Premiere magazine that he’s considering ideas for it.

Here’s what Scott had to say:

“I’m already playing with the idea of ‘Gladiator III’ “No, seriously! I lit the fuse… The ending of ‘Gladiator II’ evokes that of ‘The Godfather,’ with Michael Corleone finding himself with a job he didn’t want and wondering, ‘And now, Father, What am I doing?’ So, the next film will be about a man who doesn’t want to be where he is.”

That concept points to a return for Paul Mescal, who plays main character Lucius.

In a follow-up interview with the magazine, the actor admitted that he’d spoken to Scott about a potential next outing.

This is what Mescal had to say:

“Yes, Ridley spoke to me about it, but only yesterday! So I’m waiting to see what will happen, but it interests me, of course. But we must not rush anything: the story must hold together.”

Whether it interests Mescal or not is only part of the issue here; ‘Gladiator II’ is a big, expensive bet by Paramount (to the tune of, according to different reports, of between $200 and $300 million), so it will need to make some serious profit to trigger spending on another sequel.

But let’s be honest here, if any director can wrangle studios to his will, it’s Scott.

‘Gladiator II’ battles its way into theaters on November 22nd.