Ridley Scott‘s thriller feature The Dog Stars continues to announce its cast list, following news that Jacob Elordi would replace Paul Mescal in the lead role. Margaret Qualley, Josh Brolin and Guy Pearce are in final talks to star in the 20th Century Studios film, an adaptation of Peter Heller’s 2012 apocalyptic novel written by Mark L. Smith and Christopher Wilkinson.

Set in Colorado after the world’s population has been ravaged by a pandemic, The Dog Stars centres on a civilian pilot living on an abandoned airbase with his dog and an ex-Marine he has befriended. When a mysterious transmission comes through on the radio while he is flying his 1956 Cessna, it sparks a hunt for the provenance of the sound in hopes of a better life.

Margaret Qualley earned well-deserved praise for her role in last year’s body horror The Substance, in which she starred opposite Demi Moore, and can be seen later this year in Honey Don’t! and Happy Gilmore 2. Brolin’s next films include Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery and Edgar Wright’s remake of The Running Man. Meanwhile, Pearce is nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for his role in The Brutalist.