After a nearly decade-long detour, director Ridley Scott is returning to the sci-fi genre this week. The filmmaker has spent the last several years making period epics of different scales, from the character-focused drama The Last Duelto the sword-and-sandals sequel Gladiator II. None of them, however, was able to break out at the box office. Scott’s last major hit came in 2015, when The Martian grossed more than $600 million worldwide and scored several Oscar nominations. It was followed by what would become his last sci-fi feature in quite some time: a franchise entry that was released to mixed reviews and an underwhelming box-office response in 2017. The movie in question, Alien: Covenant, has its fans, but its divisive reception forced the long-running franchise into hibernation for several years while Scott moved on to other projects.
He’s now back with a new film in a genre synonymous with him. Scott broke out with the landmark hits Alien and Blade Runner, and over the course of his career, has remained attached to both properties in some fashion. He produced Blade Runner 2049, the critically acclaimed legacy sequel directed by Denis Villeneuve, and directed the two Alien prequels, Alien: Covenant and Prometheus. He also executive-produced the franchise’s latest installment, Alien: Romulus, and the television spin-off Alien: Earth. His new movie doesn’t have the legacy of a decades-old franchise to live up to; it isn’t, however, an original film. Scott’s upcoming sci-fi movie is based on a 2012 post-apocalyptic novel by Peter Heller.
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Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
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Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.
💊The Matrix
🔥Mad Max
🌧️Blade Runner
🏜️Dune
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🚀Star Wars
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01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.
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02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
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03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
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04
How do you deal with authority you don’t trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
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05
Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
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06
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
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07
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.
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08
What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
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Your Fate Has Been Calculated You’d Survive In…
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
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The Resistance, Zion
The Matrix
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.
You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.
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The Wasteland
Mad Max
The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.
You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.
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Los Angeles, 2049
Blade Runner
You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.
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Arrakis
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.
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A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.
You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
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Here’s When Ridley Scott’s New Sci-Fi Movie Will Be Released in Theaters
This week, the legendary filmmaker will finally debut The Dog Stars, featuring Jacob Elordiin the lead role. The movie also features Josh Brolin, Margaret Qualley, Benedict Wong, Allison Janney, and Guy Pearce. The Dog Stars was adapted by Mark L. Smith, the co-writer of the Oscar-winning epic The Revenant. The movie has been produced on a reported budget of $110 million, which is roughly the same budget-range that The Martian and Alien: Covenant occupied as well. Scott is well-known for juggling multiple projects at the same time, and in recent years, has divided his collaborators for orchestrating fast-paced productions using multiple cameras and rapid turnarounds. The Dog Stars will be released theatrically on August 28. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
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