James Gray Says ‘Ad Astra’ Was Taken From Him and Changed by Studio: ‘A Very Different Film

Director James Gray has spoken openly about his 2019 sci-fi film “Ad Astra,” saying the version released in theaters was not the one he originally made. The comments come from an interview he gave in Cannes to Brut, where he was also promoting his new film “Paper Tiger.”

Gray explained that the final cut of “Ad Astra,” which starred Brad Pitt, was heavily shaped by studio involvement from 20th Century Fox. He said the film changed significantly after test screenings did not go well, which led to reshoots and editing decisions made by the studio instead of him.

He was very direct about how he felt during the process. He said, “That film was taken away from me. That’s not my cut of the movie.” Gray also explained that working with a studio on a large budget film often means dealing with many outside decisions that can change the direction of the project.

He added that there were constant discussions and pressure during post-production, especially as the studio itself was going through changes after being sold to Disney. According to Gray, this created confusion and made it harder for him to maintain control over the final version of the film.

Even though “Ad Astra” had a large budget of around 80 million dollars, Gray compared it to his newer film “Paper Tiger,” which was made for about 15 million dollars. He said he prefers working at a smaller scale where he has more control over the final product.

Gray also revealed an interesting detail about the editing process. He said the released version of “Ad Astra” is actually longer than the version he wanted. He explained, “It would have been a very different movie,” and added that his preferred version would have been about 12 minutes shorter. He even joked that he is one of the few directors who would make a shorter director’s cut.

He expressed hope that one day he might be able to release his own version of the film. However, he admitted that it is not up to him and depends on studio decisions. Still, he said he would like the chance to show audiences what his original vision looked like.

“Ad Astra,” released in 2019, is a science fiction film about an astronaut traveling through space to find his father, whose mission may be threatening Earth. The movie also starred Tommy Lee Jones, Ruth Negga, Liv Tyler, and Donald Sutherland. It received strong reviews for its visuals and performances, especially Brad Pitt’s role, but it did not perform strongly at the box office.

The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival and was later released by 20th Century Fox. It went on to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Sound Mixing. Despite the mixed commercial results, it has remained a widely discussed film, especially in terms of its production process.

Gray’s recent comments add new attention to how much “Ad Astra” changed during development, and how different it might have been if his original version had been released.

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