The author set no conditions and was 'blown away': Ridley Scott's first sci-fi in a decade lands August 26

Ridley Scott is 88, still directing, and has decided the apocalypse needs more hope and fewer zombies.

Ridley Scott has made "Alien," "Blade Runner," and "The Martian," and then spent the better part of a decade making movies about Napoleon, gladiators, and Gucci heirs. Now he's back in science fiction with "The Dog Stars," which had its world premiere in London on Thursday and begins its global theatrical rollout on August 26, Reuters reports.

The film is adapted from Peter Heller's 2012 novel of the same name, and the most remarkable thing about the adaptation might be what happened before a single frame was shot: Heller set no conditions. None. He let Scott and screenwriter Mark L. Smith do whatever they wanted with his book, which is the literary equivalent of handing someone your car keys and saying "bring it back when you're done, or don't."

Then he saw the finished film and, by his own account to Reuters, came away floored.

The setup

Jacob Elordi plays Hig, a mechanic who survived a pandemic that wiped out most of humanity, including his wife. He lives in an abandoned airport in Erie, Colorado, with an aging dog and an ex-military hard case named Bangley (Josh Brolin). He flies an old yellow Cessna around looking for survivors and supplies. One day he catches a patchy radio transmission, follows it to a mountain hideout, and finds Cima (Margaret Qualley) and Pops (Guy Pearce), which is where, per Reuters, he finds both respite and trouble.

Also in the cast: Benedict Wong, as a member of a Mennonite community. Also in the cast: a dog named Rak Jasper, who I'm told did all the work.

What Scott wanted

The 88-year-old director told Reuters he jumped on the project after reading Smith's script and getting nervous halfway through — the good kind of nervous, where you're hoping the writer doesn't fumble the landing. The writer did not fumble the landing. Hence the movie.

He was also clear about what he didn't want:

"There have been so many zombie movies. There are no zombies in this."

What he wanted instead was optimism, which he called essential. Optimism! In a post-apocalyptic film! From the man who invented the chestburster! It's a pivot, and a welcome one.

The vibe, according to everyone involved

A few things that came out of the premiere:

• Elordi described the production as huge and Scott as the king of epic, and said the best part was spending time outdoors and working with the dog. His job with Rak Jasper, he said, was essentially to stand there with a treat in his pocket.
• Heller, the novelist, said cinema is a different discipline with its own demands, and that the film preserved the core of his book — the idea that you have to keep your heart open and take risks to love people, even at the end of the world.
• Benedict Wong said the film centers on hope, decency, and human connection in devastating times, and called it something we could all use right now.
• Most of the film was shot on location in Italy, which is a very Ridley Scott way to depict Colorado.

A post-apocalyptic thriller whose director, novelist, and cast all used the word "hope" unprompted is either a cynical marketing play or a man in his late eighties deciding what he actually wants to leave on the screen. I'm going with the second one.

Should you go?

Jacob Elordi in a Cessna, Josh Brolin being gruff, Margaret Qualley in a mountain hideout, Guy Pearce as someone called Pops, a very good dog, and Ridley Scott doing science fiction without a single zombie. August 26. I'm in.