Brad Pitt Handsomely Joins the Space Race in Long-Awaited Ad Astra

Welcome to the Ad Astra cinematic universe. In the upcoming movie, which finally has an official trailer, Brad Pitt plays Roy McBride, an astronaut who has to uncover the truth behind a top-secret project that his father, also an astronaut, once worked on. The top-secret mission, a search for alien life beyond Earth, was called the Lima Project. However, the mission failed—and McBrides father (played by Tommy Lee Jones) disappeared. But . . . its not long before McBride realizes that his father was also apparently experimenting with some rare material that could have destroyed the solar system. Typical astronaut stuff! So now, McBride has to do his best Meg Murry impression and retrace his dads steps in order to find out what on earth (in space) happened here.

Ad Astra is the latest in a very recent string of sad astronaut movies, beginning with Damien Chazelles First Man—which starred Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong—and the upcoming Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, directed by mind-bender Noah Hawley. The latter stars Natalie Portman as the titular Lucy, a character loosely based on Lisa Nowak—the astronaut who made headlines for her bizarre diaper-wearing revenge story.

Ad Astra has had a surprisingly long road to theaters. The film, directed by James Gray and co-written by Gray and Ethan Gross, was repeatedly delayed, originally set for a January 2019 release date. It was then pushed back to May 24, Memorial Day weekend, and later pushed again to September 20. The film was also expected to debut at the Cannes Film Festival last month, but Gray dashed quickly dashed those hopes in a February interview. “The issue is a little bit out of our hands because the shots come in from the VFX houses and right now our delivery date is late April, early May, which is really, really cutting it close,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “You want your visual effects to be so good that nobody thinks about them, that people don't think of them as visual effects.”

Cannes still met its Pitt quotient, thankfully, with the actor turning up to support the premiere of Quentin Tarantinos Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood, which he stars in alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Margot Robbie. Busy year for that guy.

More Great Stories from Vanity Fair

— Exclusive: your first look at Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

— How Patricia Arquette became the queen of prestige TV

— Inside the tumultuous making of Animal House

— Why Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood marks a telling shift for Quentin Tarantino

— From the archive: our very first Hollywood Issue, featuring Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Denzel Washington, and more!

Looking for more? Sign up for our daily Hollywood newsletter and never miss a story.

Get Vanity Fairs HWD NewsletterSign up for essential industry and award news from Hollywood.Full ScreenPhotos:Star Wars on the Cover of Vanity FairPhoto: Photograph by Annie Leibovitz.Photo: Photograph by Annie Leibovitz.Daisy Ridley as Resistance warrior Rey and Mark Hamill as mentor Luke Skywalker, on location in Ireland.Photo: Photograph by Annie Leibovitz.First Order leaders Captain Phasma, Kylo Ren, and General Hux, played by Gwendoline Christie, Adam Driver, and Domhnall Gleeson.Photo: Photograph by Annie Leibovitz.Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, George Lucas, Natalie Portman, Yoda, Darth Vader, R2-D2, Anthony Daniels as C-3PO, Samuel L. Jackson, Jar Jar Binks, Jimmy Smits, Christopher Lee, Liam Neeson, Pernilla August, Jake Lloyd, Ian McDiarmid, General Grievous, Billy Dee Williams, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca, and Mark Hamill on the February 2005 cover.Photo: Photograph by Annie Leibovitz.Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker and Natalie Portman as Amidala on the March 2002 cover.Photo: Photograph by Annie Leibovitz.Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn, the one and only Jar Jar Binks, Natalie Portman as Queen Amidala, Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi, R2-D2, George Lucas, C-3PO, and Jake Lloyd as Anakin Skywalker on the Phantom Menace set in Tunisia on the February 1999 cover.Photo: Photograph by Annie Leibovitz.PreviousNext