Colorado author Peter Heller\u2019s debut novel \u201cThe Dog Stars\u201d is getting a major Hollywood adaptation that will bring the 2012 book to movie theaters this summer.<\/p>\n
And Heller, the New York Times bestselling author of multiple Colorado-set stories of nature and humanity in crisis, is fully along for the ride.<\/p>\n
Budgeted at $110 million, the film version of \u201cThe Dog Stars\u201d is driven by Academy Award-winning director Ridley Scott (\u201cBlade Runner,\u201d \u201cNapoleon\u201d), Oscar-nominee Guy Pearce (\u201cThe Brutalist\u201d), Oscar-nominated actor Jacob Elordi (\u201cFrankenstein\u201d), Oscar-nominee Josh Brolin (\u201cWeapons\u201d), Margaret Qualley (\u201cThe Substance\u201d), and Benedict Wong (\u201cAvengers: Doomsday\u201d).\n<\/p>\n
All signed on to realize Heller\u2019s wide-ranging novel thanks to Scott\u2019s involvement in the film, which 20th Century Studios will release on Aug. 28. \u201cThe Dog Stars\u201d<\/a> traces Colorado pilot Hig\u2019s post-apocalyptic journey<\/a> with his dog, Jasper, after he receives a mysterious transmission at the abandoned Erie airstrip where he lives.<\/p>\n Heller, a New York Times bestselling author who\u2019s written titles such as \u201cBurn,\u201d<\/a> \u201cThe Orchard,\u201d<\/a> and \u201cThe Painter,\u201d has enjoyed national recognition over the last decade-plus, particularly as his work has been vaunted in Oprah\u2019s Book Club and other national media.<\/p>\n Heller embarked on his own epic journey while visiting the movie set outside Rome, spending time with most of the cast and crew. After flying to Italy in July, he was welcomed warmly by the 200-strong production crew and cast, he said, all of whom had either read the book in English or its Italian translation. That was thanks to Scott stocking their hotel lobbies with hundreds of copies of \u201cThe Dog Stars.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt was all of the crew, even the animal handlers,\u201d Heller said over the phone from Mexico, where he lives and surfs when not residing in Colorado. \u201cI was there a whole three days when Guy Pearce came across the set and grabbed me and said, \u2018I loved the book! Great to meet you.\u2019 And he had just gotten an Academy Award (nomination)<\/a>. Same (reaction) with Jacob Elordi<\/a> (who plays protagonist Hig). Same with the costume designer, Janty Yates, who has three Oscars.\u201d<\/p>\n Heller shares these stories not to boast, he said, but to underline what an unusual experience it was for an author. Many writers are kept at arm\u2019s length when their work is being adapted into a narrative feature or series; one of the reasons is the author\u2019s hypersensitivity to plot, character or setting changes (in other words: their preciousness about hewing to the book).<\/p>\n But that can slow or complicate a production, if not anger the director and producers. In this case, Heller is an executive producer on the film, so that helped. He also made peace with the adaptation process before he ever visited the set.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t expect it to be rendered perfectly as a book on the screen. I\u2019m just really honored and excited that another great artist is inspired to craft a new and discrete work of art,\u201d he said. \u201cA lot of writers don\u2019t go into it with that approach, but I saved myself a lot of heartache that way. It\u2019s angst-free.\u201d<\/p>\n The movie\u2019s casting details have been lighting up trade magazines such as Variety<\/a> and Deadline<\/a> since 2024, but only recently has it gained wider attention as the studio preps a marketing blitz. No production or photos or details have leaked yet, making its look a closely guarded secret. The lead role has shifted since it was optioned back in 2018, first with Channing Tatum attached, then Paul Mescal, who recently worked with director Scott in \u201cGladiator II.\u201d<\/p>\n Nabbing Australian actor Elordi, who\u2019s nominated this year for Best Supporting Actor in Guillermo del Toro\u2019s \u201cFrankenstein,\u201d wasn\u2019t the only big-name coup (Heller said he and Elordi enjoyed talking over film history, as Elordi is a cinephile). In fact, the screenplay for \u201cThe Dog Stars\u201d was written by Mark L. Smith (\u201cThe Revenant,\u201d \u201cTwisters\u201d), who has written blockbusters while winning critical acclaim over the last decade.<\/p>\n Heller recalls being phoned by Smith about three years ago to praise the novel and secure permission to adapt it. Smith grew up on a 200-acre dude ranch in Colorado and fully understood the tone of the novel\u2019s setting.<\/p>\n \u201cI loved \u2018The Revenant\u2019 because the landscape is a major character, and it\u2019s that way in a lot of my books, too,\u201d Heller said. \u201cSo I said, \u2018Of course, I\u2019d be honored if you take a crack at it.\u2019 And he wrote the screenplay in three months.\u201d<\/p>\n Given Smith\u2019s reputation \u2014 \u201cThe Revenant\u201d was nominated for 12 Oscars and ended up winning three in 2016 \u2014 the completed screenplay quickly found its way to Scott, who signed on and secured the $100 million-plus budget, Heller said.<\/p>\n For various reasons, Scott chose to film in Italy as a stand-in for Colorado. When visiting the sets, Heller was impressed by the contrast between the scope of the production and its intimate artistry. Pivotal scenes at the abandoned airstrip, set in Erie, were shot in the Dolemite Mountains. For three days during Heller\u2019s visit, a provincial park an hour and a half north of Rome doubled as the Uncompahgre Plateau in Western Colorado.<\/p>\n Scott is 88 years old and has bad knees, but was still the most energetic person on set, Heller said. Scott directs from a production bunker full of monitors, shooting with eight cameras simultaneously. That means every angle needs to be screen-ready and not tainted by equipment, crew or the director.<\/p>\n Fortunately, Scott invited Heller into the heart of the process (a.k.a. the camouflaged bunker) and allowed him to watch the filming. Scott happily regaled him with stories while complimenting the book, immediately making Heller feel that his work was being adapted in the right spirit, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s this scene where we\u2019re filming in a little cabin in a wooded meadow, and Jacob Elordi\u2019s character says to Guy Pearce, \u2018Thanks for not killing me,\u2019 \u201d Heller said. \u201cAs a gesture of goodwill, he picks up a pot of wildflowers and puts it under a drip in the ceiling. And then he starts talking about how he got there, and how his wife died in the pandemic, and his dog Jasper, and I just started to cry.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was so moving to see this scene that I had written come to life,\u201d Heller added. \u201cCliff (Roberts, one of the film\u2019s producers) just squeezed my arm and said, \u2018This is the response I wanted you to have.\u2019 It was just so friggin\u2019 cool.\u201d<\/p>\n This article was updated to correct actor Jacob Elordi\u2019s nationality as Australian.<\/p>\n![\"Ridley](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/TDP-75th_Annual_Golden_Globe_Awards_-_Arrivals_45755jpg-aea24jpg_253494689.jpeg?fit=620%2C9999px&ssl=1\")
Ridley Scott, photographed at the Golden Globe Awards in January 2018, secured the $100 million-plus budget for “The Dog Stars.” (Jordan Strauss\/Invision\/AP)<\/p>\n![\"Jacob](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/TDP-98th-Academy-Awards-Nominees-Luncheon-Arrivals_259261116.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&ssl=1\")
Nabbing British actor Jacob Elordi, pictured here at the Academy Awards nominee luncheon on Feb. 10, was a big-name coup for “The Dog Stars” — but not the only one. (Jordan Strauss\/Invision\/AP)<\/p>\n![\""The](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.denverpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/20120809__20120812_E8_BK12HELLERp2.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&ssl=1\")
“The Dog Stars,” by Peter Heller (Vintage Contemporaries)<\/p>\n