While it seems bizarre that Brad Pitt’s never starred in a space epic until now — A-listers actors including George Clooney, Matthew McConaughey, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Ryan Gosling, Will Smith, and more have already carved that notch in their belt — the time has arrived with Ad Astra. Director James Gray (The Lost City of Z) even brings Tommy Lee Jones back to the world of rocketships as the father of Roy (Pitt). Well, Roy is trying to save the world, but is his mission quite that simple? To be perfectly real, none of the trailers so far have made much sense, but they sure have been nice to look at. That trend grows even larger with this IMAX trailer because that’s where the visuals will truly shine, but this trailer also unveils a few more plot layers.
What a terrifying trip this appears to be. Cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema (Interstellar) sends Pitt to space on breathtakingly beautiful mission to look for dad, who earlier lost his way back home while searching for alien life. Gray has already shown himself to be adept while sending his protagonists on dangerous search efforts, and we find out in the IMAX trailer that Roy’s father might be responsible for an impending anti-matter disaster. From the synopsis:
Astronaut Roy McBride (Brad Pitt) travels to the outer edges of the solar system to find his missing father (Tommy Lee Jones) and unravel a mystery that threatens the survival of our planet. His journey will uncover secrets that challenge the nature of human existence and our place in the cosmos.
Ad Astra also stars Ruth Negga, Liv Tyler, and Donald Sutherland and will arrive on September 20.