Brad Pitt’s Sci-Fi Masterpiece Was “Taken Away” From Its Director & Changed 1 Key Element

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James Gray explains how his Brad Pitt movie Ad Astra was altered from his original vision.

The 2019 science fiction film Ad Astra stars Brad Pitt as an astronaut on a mission to space. He’s searching for answers about his father, who vanished years ago, and investigating a possible danger to the entire universe. James Gray directed and co-wrote the movie with Ethan Gross. The film also features Tommy Lee Jones, Ruth Negga, and Donald Sutherland.

At the Cannes Film Festival, director James Gray shared that he felt his film Ad Astra was compromised during production, according to Variety. He explained that studio negotiations led to the film being altered in ways he didn’t intend. If he could change one thing, he’d cut about 12 minutes from the final runtime. You can find his exact comments below.

I had complete creative control over this current project, unlike my experience with ‘Ad Astra,’ where the final cut was taken out of my hands. That version wasn’t my vision for the film. When you work with a studio – especially when that studio, like 20th Century Fox, gets bought by another company like Disney – things get complicated. ‘Ad Astra’ had an $80 million budget, while this project cost $15 million. I prefer working on this smaller scale because it’s frustrating to have your work altered and still be held responsible. The ‘Ad Astra’ director’s cut would have been about twelve minutes shorter. I’m known for making director’s cuts shorter, and I’d love to release one for that film someday, though it’s ultimately not my decision. It would be a really exciting project for me.

Gray is spot-on about how large budgets can limit a director’s creative control. When films cost over $50 million, they usually involve big-name actors and grander productions, which means the studio expects a huge return on its investment. As we saw with Ad Astra, this leads to studios wanting more input and control over the final product.

The movie Ad Astra originally ran for 2 hours and 3 minutes in theaters, which is shorter than most big sci-fi films. However, director James Gray would have made it even shorter. His preferred cut of the film is 12 minutes shorter, bringing the total runtime down to a more easily watchable 1 hour and 51 minutes.

As Gray pointed out, director’s cuts almost always make movies longer. Zack Snyder is well-known for his extended cuts, and his 2021 version of Zack Snyder’s Justice League is a prime example. The R-rated director’s cut clocks in at over four hours, more than doubling the length of the original two-hour theatrical release of Justice League.

Gray doesn’t say specifically what he would have removed from Ad Astra, but based on his past work, it probably would have made the film more nuanced and less overtly explained for general audiences. Ultimately, Gray felt constrained by the film’s budget and the resulting demands from the studio.

Despite the studio’s involvement, Ad Astra was still a critically acclaimed film. It earned an 83% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metascore of 80, with many positive reviews. For example, Chris Agar from ScreenRant gave it 7 out of 10 stars, highlighting the film’s bold vision and Brad Pitt’s excellent performance.

Okay, so James Gray’s new film, Paper Tiger, is a breath of fresh air after his last one, Ad Astra. This one’s a classic gangster tale starring Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson as brothers chasing the American Dream, and things, predictably, get complicated. It screened really well at Cannes, and honestly, it feels like Gray really knocked it out of the park this time, especially after Ad Astra didn’t quite land where he wanted it to.

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2026-05-25 16:59