Hollywood actor Jacob Elordi is in talks to star in Ridley Scott’s upcoming movie The Dog Stars for 20th Century. The film is a post-apocalyptic thriller.

The actor is said to replace Paul Mescal, who ran into scheduling issues. Mescal, who stars in Scott’s Gladiator sequel, had been poised to star in the film about a catastrophic flu virus that wipes out nearly all of humanity. But he was forced to drop out due to filming Sam Mendes’ Beatles anthology. The project is based on a 2012 novel by Peter Heller, with its screenplay written by Mark L Smith, and is expected to be Scott’s next film after a Bee Gees biopic for Paramount.