His long-gestating sequelWorld War Zfinally back on the right track with David Fincher now confirmed to direct, Brad Pitt has also lined up another project that will shoot first.Brad Pitthas signed on to star alongside Tommy Lee Jones in a new sci-fi thriller calledAd Astra, which is Latin for “to the stars.” Production is already slated to begin this coming September, with director James Grey at the helm. The filmmaker is comig off his recent filmThe Lost City of Z, which debuted in theaters this spring.
Deadlinereports that Brad Pitt will portray Roy McBride, a “slightly autistic” space engineer, whose father disappeared 20 years ago after embarking on a one-way mission to Neptune, to find signs of intelligent life. Roy sets off on a mission of his own into outer space to find out why his father’s mission failed.Tommmy Lee Joneswill play the father, with the site revealing that the film has a “Heart of Darknessvibe,” the Joseph Conrad novel that inspiredApocalypse Now. Brad Pitt actually signed on to this project in February, when it became clear thatWorld War Z 2was taking longer than expected to get off the ground.
Brad Pitt was actually attached to star in two differentJames Grayprojects that never came to fruition. He was originally attached to star inThe Lost City of Zway back in 2008, where he was set to play British soldier and spy Percy Fawcett, a role that ultimately went to Charlie Hunnam. Brad Pitt was later set to star in the spy thrillerThe Grey Man, but that never got off the ground either. With filming already set to begin in just a few months, it seems fans who have always wanted to see Brad Pitt star in a James Gray movie, will finally get their wish. No release schedule was given, but it’s possible that this could be ready to hit theaters by the end of 2018, if production gets started on time.
James Gray is directing from a script he co-wrote with Ethan Gross, who previously wrote for the hit Fox TV sci-fi TV seriesFringe. RT Features financed the development of this project, with Brad Pitt producing through his Plan B production company. Also producing is James Gay, RT Features' Rodrigo Teixeira, Keep Your Head Productions' Anthony Katagas and Mad River’s Marc Butan. RT Features' Lourenco Sant’Anna and Sophie Mas are serving as executive producers. It isn’t known if this will be a big-budgetsci-fi thriller, but James Gray typically doesn’t direct movies with massive budgets, so it seems unlikely.
Brad Pitt most recently starred in the Netflix original movieWar Machine, and last year’s World War II thrillerAllied, alongside Marion Cotillard. The actor also serves as an executive producer on the highly-anticipatedOkja, which debuts June 28 on the Netflix streaming service. James Gray’s other directing credits includeThe Immigrant,Two Lovers,We Own the Night,The Yard,Little Odessa, and he also directed an episode ofThe Red Road. Hopefully we’ll have more onAd Astrain the very near future, as we get closer and closer to production getting under way.
