From two-time Academy Award winner Brad Bird, the visionary animation director behind The Iron Giant, The Incredibles, and Ratatouille, is coming to the streamer and Skydance with Ray Gunn. And it stars Sam Rockwell in a role he knows best: a sardonic private eye.
Brad Bird has confirmed that Ray Gunn has been 30 years in the making and is finally set to debut later in 2026. The film represents a significant departure from traditional animated fare, with Bird describing the project as a sophisticated blend of 1940s detective tropes and classic science fiction.
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“Ray Gunn has been in my mind for over 30 years. The film is a blend of sci-fi and classic detective movies from the ’40s…it’s Maltese Falcon meets Buck Rogers. I’ve been a fan of both of those sorts of genres, and blending them together seemed fun, and a chance to play with a lot of very cinematic elements, and extreme characters,” said Brad Bird in a press blast from Netflix.
But what is striking is how Brad Bird has talked about the film, and how animation itself is still a medium that needs to push people to accept it as more than just for children. He said, “There’s a big chunk of people who don’t watch animation. That’s a group I’m anxious to persuade because it’s an amazing art form that is way too limited in people’s minds. Animation as a medium is too interesting to limit what kind of stories can be told.”
As writer, director, and producer of Ray Gunn, Brad Bird has debuted it to audiences on his terms, and I, for one, am excited about what this means for the broader film landscape, which more often than not tosses out any animated film that doesn’t stick to the Pixar formula or have Disney backing.
What is Ray Gunn about?
In Metropia, a gigantic city in an alternate future as seen from 1939, private eye Raymond Gunn (Sam Rockwell) is drawn into a case involving aliens, murder, and a multimedia star named Venus Nova (Scarlett Johansson). Mertopia is an Art Deco-inspired metropolis that reflects an alternate future imagined in 1939.
But this isn’t just a typical dark noir story; instead, Bird’s visual identity for Ray Gunn draws heavily from pre-World War II optimism, featuring a skyline of ever-taller streamlined buildings, flying cars, and jetpacks. According to Bird, the goal was to capture an upward-reaching vision of tomorrow. Rerofuturism meets noir storytelling.
Ray Gunn Cast
- Sam Rockwell as Raymond Gunn: A private eye operating in an era dominated by mechanical investigators.
- Scarlett Johansson as Venus Nova: The world’s most famous pop star, who is currently entangled in scandals that threaten her life and career.
- Tom Waits as Eyera: A one-eyed alien and the most trusted compatriot of the protagonist.
What is the release date?
Having just been announced, the animated film does not have a release date, but its release window is set for some time in 2026, exclusively on Netflix.
