Brad Pitt Says Ad Astra Is Really About Masculinity

There's been a recent push for movies and TV shows to display a new kind of masculinity one that isn't bound by traditional markers like extreme violence and an aversion to vulnerability .

Brad Pitt 's newest movie, Ad Astra, plans to further expand this modern interpretation of masculinity. The movie follows an astronaut (Pitt) as he travels to the outer edges of the solar system. He's on a mission to save the world, but he's also trying to find his long-lost dad (who's also an astronaut).

The relationship between the father/son duo is a major part of the film , and Pitt says that the movie also explores masculinity and what it means to be a man.

"In retrospect, what [the movie's director] James Gray and I were digging at was that definition of masculinity," Pitt said during a press conference . "Weve both grown up in an era where we were asked to be strongand there is a value in that, but [also a] barrier because youre hiding some of those things you feel ashamed of. We all hide and carry individual pain and wounds."

Pitt continued, "We were asking the questionsis there a better definition [of masculinity] for usa better relationship with loved ones, with your kids and with ourselves?"

Ad Astra also stars Tommy Lee Jones, Ruth Negga, and Liv Tyler, and it will hit theaters on September 20.