SPOILER ALERT: This post contains spoilers for The Dog Stars now out in theaters.
Ridley Scott’s newest film, The Dog Stars, is based on Peter Heller’s 2012 novel of the same name.
Mark L. Smith’s screenplay made several noticeable changes to the story, some of which provide more action in the plot and propel the film forward. The Dog Stars centers Jacob Elordi’s mechanic-turned-pilot Hig, who is one of the lone survivors of a flu pandemic and follow-up blood disease, as he navigates post-apocalyptic Colorado and neighboring states.
He only has ex-military misanthrope, Bruce Bangley (Josh Brolin) and his German shepherd dog Jasper to keep him company, and when Hig needs space from Bangley, he flies out in his yellow Cessna plane to visit Mennonite families, whose leader is played by Benedict Wong, and provide them with medical supplies from a hospital in Denver. Hig risks contagion by the children and their parents to help them out.
For differences — big and small — in the book versus The Dog Stars film, read on.
The Plane
The 1956 Cessna 182 is described as cream and blue in the book. Hig nicknames her The Beast, which seems more of an inner monologue moniker. He uses it to fly the perimeter of his and Bangley’s little haven where they’ve survived trespassers and other threats mostly because Bangley picks them off with his long-range rifle.
In the film, the plane is yellow.
Jasper’s Death
L-R: Jasper and Jacob Elordi as Hig in 20th Century Studios’ THE DOG STARS
Fabio Lovino/ 20th Century Studios
In Heller’s book, Jasper passes somewhat peacefully in his sleep when Hig takes him up to the mountains to camp and fish. The dog had gone mostly deaf, and he was getting old, so Hig’s decision to camp out under some frost ended up being too much for the canine.
In the film, Jasper dies after Bangley waits until the last minute to pick off some invaders that target Hig and his dog. Bangley does this because Hig wasn’t thorough with his air surveillance and missed the people that came at him and Bangley. One of their errant gunshots found the canine’s heart.
In both the book and the film, this is what ultimately galvanizes Hig to go fly beyond their shelter and search for more. He had received a signal from Grand Junction airport years ago, so he wanted to see if anything could be found behind that transmission.
How Hig Meets Cima & Pops
When Hig touches down in the book near Cima’s (Margaret Qualley) and Pops’ (Guy Pearce) farm, tucked away like his shelter with Bangley, he meets an aggressive Pops right away who shoots at him a couple of times. Hig doesn’t help by provoking him with scrawled messages on paper, but eventually they get past it and he stays with them.
In the film, Sarah the donkey leads Hig to their ranch of sorts, and he sees Cima first, but Pops is behind him in the shadows with a rifle and quickly descends on Hig, telling him to unload his weapons and stand slowly. Pops does not want Hig anywhere on their property, but Cima engages in some conversation with the pilot.
(L-R) Jacob Elordi as Hig and Margaret Qualley as Cima in 20th Century Studios’ THE DOG STARS
Fabio Lovino/20th Century Studios
How Cima & Pops Leave With Hig
In the book, Pops and Hig slowly come to the conclusion that they can leave the farm all together in the plane. After working through the equations to balance cargo, fuel and the plane’s weight, it’s concluded that Pops will drive out onto the highway and then join his daughter and Hig in the Cessna after they’ve taken off to burn some of the fuel.
The film sees them hastily get in the plane when a large group of hostile people find their farm and attack them. Both Pops and Cima get in the plane after they’ve helped Hig clear a path for takeoff by chopping down trees and throwing rocks out of the way.
The Reapers
In Heller’s novel, the looming new threat were referred to as “The A-rabs” who had somehow gotten to the country and were causing trouble. The film describes them as Reapers. Hig captured their graffiti in the beginning of the film, and a hoard of them — covered in facepaint — attack both Cima and Pops’ camp as well as Bangley, who is left alone when Hig goes out to find Cima and Pops.
In the book, readers don’t get to fully see the attack on Bangley because it’s told from Hig’s perspective and he’s gone, but the film expands to show the scene, parts in night vision radar. Bangley’s relieving survival is part of both the book and film.
Grand Junction
Cima, Pops and Hig explore Grand Junction both in the book and in the movie, but what goes down there is wildly different in the movie. They both involve prompting by a transmission from an older woman’s voice.
In the book, when Hig tries to land there, a trip wire almost snags the Cessna and pulls them down to their deaths in a crash. They then land still and discover an old couple, who they kill, living in the radio tower with way too many cats.
The film took this part up a notch with a surprise appearance from Allison Janney as Darlene, voice heard on the radio and leader of a strange cult-like group who have been living at the airport for a while. Darlene used to be a flight attendant, and she still dresses the part. She only deems Cima fit to “keep” in their strange compound because she has doctorial skills.
