It’s been a long time coming, but today we finally have a first proper glimpse of James Gray’s hotly-anticipated sci-fi thriller. Originally slated for release this summer, Ad Astra was rumoured to debut at the Cannes Film Festival but has now been delayed until September – only heightening the sense of mystique and intrigue surrounding the film.
Brad Pitt stars as astronaut Roy McBride, who embarks on a mission on the edge of space only to crash back down to earth when a strange event dubbed ‘The Surge’ triggers power outages and plane crashes around the planet. The first official trailer gives away more of the plot, but we won’t spoil anything here – suffice to say it looks like a bold change of direction from director Gray, whose previous exploration into the nature of human existence, The Lost City of Z, failed to have the desired impact.
Liv Tyler, Tommy Lee Jones, Ruth Negga and Donald Sutherland co-star in Ad Astra alongside Pitt, who is shaping up to have something of a banner year – even by his lofty standards – following his star turn in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood.
Ad Astra is released on 18 September.
Published 5 Jun 2019
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By Matt Thrift
James Gray channels Joseph Conrad in this immaculately-crafted but lacklustre epic.
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