Ridley Scott has never been particularly interested in easing off the throttle. From the industrial nightmare of Alien to the neon-drenched future of Blade Runner and the sand-and-sandal grandeur of Gladiator, his career has been built on making cinema feel enormous. Now, with The Dog Stars finally in cinemas, Scott is once again looking beyond the horizon. The post-apocalyptic thriller stars Jacob Elordi, Josh Brolin and Margaret Qualley and arrived in theaters on August 28, 2026. 

For a filmmaker who has spent decades jumping between historical epics, science fiction, crime dramas and war stories, even 88 does not seem to have dimmed the appetite. If anything, Scott has another batch of projects waiting in the wings.

The next adventure could take Ridley Scott somewhere he has never really gone before: pirate country. Treasure Island is his planned adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1883 classic, with Hugh Jackman attached to play the legendary Long John Silver. Adolescence writer Jack Thorne is writing the screenplay, while Scott and Michael Pruss are producing through Scott Free. The project is currently in development, with no confirmed release year yet. 

The story needs little introduction, but Scott has plenty of room to put his own fingerprints on it. Young Jim Hawkins discovers a map leading to Captain Flint’s buried fortune and joins a dangerous sea voyage aboard the Hispaniola, where the charismatic and treacherous Silver becomes the central threat. Jackman brings a fascinating piece of casting history to the role after playing everything from Wolverine to Jean Valjean.

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And if Treasure Island sounds like an unexpected detour, Scott has another familiar universe waiting for him, one where the monsters are considerably less interested in buried gold.

Ridley Scott is heading back into the shadows of space. The filmmaker has confirmed that a new Alien prequel is in development, continuing the story of 2017’s Alien: Covenant and bringing Michael Fassbender’s synthetic creation David back into the picture. There is currently no announced release date, and the project remains in development. 

The intriguing part is that Scott does not appear interested in simply bringing back another Xenomorph hunt. His comments point toward David building a “brave new world” for himself, extending the philosophical thread that made Prometheus and Alien: Covenant so divisive. Fassbender’s David was already one of Scott’s most unnerving creations, an android with the elegance of a butler and the imagination of a mad scientist. 

Then there is Rome. Ridley Scott has repeatedly discussed Gladiator III, with Paul Mescal expected to return as Lucius, but this project needs an important caveat: there is no official release date, and Scott previously acknowledged that the movie was still conceptual rather than formally locked. Scott has nevertheless revealed tantalizing pieces of the idea. 

He has suggested that the next chapter would move beyond the arena, with Lucius potentially confronting the burden of power after the events of Gladiator II. Scott compared the direction to The Godfather, imagining a protagonist who finds himself trapped in a position he never wanted. Mescal, meanwhile, has said he is “massively down” to return, although the actor has not confirmed concrete plans.

Perhaps the most surprising project on  Ridley Scott’s board is a disco biopic. You Should Be Dancing will chronicle the rise of the Bee Gees, the Gibb brothers whose music eventually became inseparable from the disco era and Saturday Night Fever. John Logan, who previously collaborated with Scott on Gladiator, is attached as writer, while Jacob Elordi has been reported as playing Barry Gibb.

The film has had a particularly Scott-like journey of delays, negotiations and shifting plans. Scott previously said he was drawn to the story because of the brothers’ working-class beginnings, their extraordinary success and the tragedy that accompanied it, including the death of Andy Gibb. Production was previously planned for 2025, but the project has faced delays and currently has no confirmed release date. 

Scott has spent a career filling screens with spaceships, battlefields, emperors and dystopian cities. Now he appears ready to add pirate ships and disco lights to the collection.

The Dog Stars may have just opened a new chapter, but Scott clearly has no intention of making it the final one.

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Which upcoming Ridley Scott movie are you most excited to see? Share your pick and thoughts in the comments.