20th Century Fox has finally released the first trailer for Ad Astra. This movie has been in the works for awhile and has been delayed several times. Some had started to wonder if there was trouble behind the scenes or what the case may be. But, for most casual moviegoers, this is probably going to be the first they hear of it. And what they're seeing is a big, trippy sci-fi movie starring Brad Pitt, which seems like a pretty easy sell. Fortunately, the trailer does a nice job of helping with the sales pitch.

The trailer kicks off with a pretty amazing action sequence involving Brad Pitt in space before we get to the meat on these bones. Pitt, an astronaut, finds out something rather surprising and he's then tasked with saving not just the world, but possibly the entire solar system. The stakes are very high. The footage is a mix of emotional, quiet moments and stunning imagery.

It may be the low-hanging comparison, but there are certainly some 2001: A Space Odyssey vibes at moments. Also maybe even Armageddon at other moments. And not just because Liv Tyler is also in this and her husband has to leave on a dangerous space mission. A bit odd to bring in comparisons to both Stanley Kubrick and Michael Bay in the same movie, I know, but it's there. In any case, what's being presented here looks incredibly ambitious and massive in scope.

This comes from director James Gray and serves as his follow-up to the acclaimed The Lost City of Z. This is clearly a much bigger movie, in every way. It's also one of the Fox projects that Disney inherited when the merger was completed. They shifted the release by a few months to the fall, which led some to believe this may be an Oscar contender. The studio is using the following tagline for the movie.

"The answers we seek are just outside our reach."

Ad Astra centers on astronaut Roy McBride (Brad Pitt) who is tasked with traveling to the outer edges of the solar system in order to find his missing father and unravel a mystery that threatens the survival of our planet. His journey will uncover secrets that call into question the very nature of human existence and our position within the cosmos. James Gray co-wrote the screenplay with Ethan Gross.

The impressive ensemble cast also includes Tommy Lee Jones, Ruth Negga and Donald Sutherland. Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Anthony Katagas, Rodrigo Teixeira and Arnon Milchan serve as executive producers. Ad Astra is set to arrive in theaters on September 20, which could, we stress could, be setting it up for an awards season run. All of the pieces certainly seem to be in place. Be sure to check out the trailer from the 20th Century Fox YouTube channel below.