Ad Astra trailer: Stunning first footage from Brad Pitt space adventure released

The stunning trailer for James Gray's intergalactic adventure Ad Astra has been released, teasing a frantic journey through the depths of space.

Brad Pitt plays Roy McBride, an astronaut who travels to the outer edges of the solar system to find his missing father and unravel the curious case of what's threatening the survival of earth.

The very 2001: A Space Odyssey​ sounding synopsis teases a journey that will "challenge the nature of human existence and our place in the cosmos".

Ad Astra also stars Tommy Lee Jones, Ruth Negga, Liv Tyler and Donald Sutherland.

Director James Gray is best known for his multiple collaborations with actor Joaquin Phoenix, including The Immigrant, Two Lovers, and We Own the Night. His last film was the critically acclaimed The Lost City of Z, which starred Charlie Hunnam and Robert Pattinson.

Ad Astra, released by 20th Century Fox (now owned by Disney), reaches cinemas on the 18 September.