Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell & Tom Waits To Lead Brad Bird’s Netflix Animation Epic ‘Ray Gunn’

Picture Credit: Netflix

After nearly 30 years in development (in various forms and statuses), legendary animation director Brad Bird’s passion project, Ray Gunn, is finally seeing the light of day. Slated to arrive exclusively on Netflix in late 2026, the sci-fi noir detective story will be the third feature film to emerge from the multi-year deal between Netflix and Skydance Animation (following 2024’s Spellbound and 2026’s Swapped).

Beyond the initial announcement that the new movie would be part of the Skydance Animation slate coming to Netflix back in 2024, there has been radio silence on the new movie, but a lot of hype. That’s until now. Here’s an update on Ray Gunn, including the star-studded voice cast, the newly released first-look images, the plot, the powerhouse creative team, and the film’s long journey to our screens.

What is the plot of Ray Gunn?

Ray Gunn is an ambitious sci-fi noir that blends 1930s pulp detective tropes with expansive, futuristic world-building grounded entirely in Earth.

The official synopsis teases:

“In Metropia, a gigantic city in an alternate future as seen from 1939, private eye Raymond Gunn is drawn into a case involving aliens, murder, and a multimedia star named Venus Nova.”

In this sprawling retro-futuristic metropolis, humans and aliens awkwardly coexist. When the hardboiled private investigator takes on a new murder case, he finds himself tangled in a massive conspiracy centered around the city’s biggest celebrity.

Various concept art for Ray Gunn over the years – Source Reddit

Director Brad Bird recently described the film as the ultimate mash-up of genres in a new statement today. “RAY GUNN has been in my mind for over 30 years,” Bird said. “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 sort of genres, and blending them together seemed fun, and a chance to play with a lot of very cinematic elements, and extreme characters.”

Who is in the voice cast for Ray Gunn?

Picture Credits: Getty Images

Netflix and Skydance Animation have lined up an incredible voice cast to bring the stylized citizens of Metropia to life:

• Sam Rockwell (Argylle, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) leads the cast as the titular Raymond Gunn, a gritty human gumshoe navigating a treacherous, alien-filled mystery.
• Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow, Her) voices Venus Nova, an enigmatic multimedia star wrapped up in Gunn’s murder investigation.
• Tom Waits (The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, Seven Psychopaths) joins the cast in an undisclosed role, bringing his signature gravelly voice to the neo-noir world.

More cast members are expected to be announced as we get closer to the 2026 release.

Speaking on her involvement in the film, Scarlett Johansson praised the director’s vision: “Having the opportunity to collaborate with Brad Bird is a career milestone for me; I have loved his work my entire life. This project is so uniquely special because it is a total realization of where Brad is currently on his artistic journey. I can’t wait for audiences to see this extraordinary animation that looks like nothing else out there.”

Picture Credit: Netflix

The inclusion of Scarlett Johansson and Sam Rockwell had actually leaked late last year. The news of their casting originally leaked from a test screening in late 2025. It wasn’t widely reported at the time, although NerdSpin did clock it and even received confirmation from one of the project’s animators before Netflix officially announced the trio of Rockwell, Johansson, and Waits.

Who is behind the movie?

Ray Gunn is directed by two-time Academy Award winner Brad Bird, the visionary filmmaker behind beloved animated classics like The Iron Giant, The Incredibles, and Ratatouille. Bird also developed the original story and co-wrote the screenplay alongside Matthew Robbins (Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, Crimson Peak).

The film boasts a massive, top-tier creative team behind the scenes:

• Producers: John Lasseter, Brad Bird, Lisa Beroud, David Ellison, and Dana Goldberg (producing for Skydance Animation), alongside Connie Nartonis Thompson, Hannah Minghella, Alex Schwartz, and Karen Rupert Toliver.
• Composer: Oscar-winning composer Michael Giacchino (Up, The Incredibles, The Batman) reunites with Bird to provide the score.
• Costume Design: Neysa Bove (Moana, Encanto, and Raya and The Last Dragon).
• Editors: Darren T. Holmes and Karl Armstrong.
• Visual Effects: Adel Abada, James Rothwell, Joshua Herrig, and Julia Spurek.
• Casting: Odin Erickson, Jason Henkel, Danielle Morozin, and Aspen Ramsdell.
• Additional Directing: Yarrow Cheney (The Secret Life of Pets).
• Assistant Director: C.J. Hsu.
• Set Decoration: Jeff Wagner.

Picture Credit: Netflix

The 30-Year Journey to Netflix

Ray Gunn is the ultimate passion project. Brad Bird and Matthew Robbins originally wrote the script way back in 1996. The movie then went in development at Turner Animation (Warner Bros.). For decades, it was envisioned as a 2D hand-drawn animated film, but it struggled to find a studio willing to back its ambitious scale and slightly more mature tone. Versions of those earlier scripts are available online. 

The project was finally revived at Skydance Animation under the leadership of John Lasseter. Originally set up at Apple TV+, the massive sci-fi epic—which reportedly carries a budget exceeding $150 million—found a new home when Skydance signed a multi-year overall pact with Netflix. Netflix took over the studio’s upcoming slate, and the film was eventually transitioned from its original 2D roots into a cutting-edge CG animated feature. Cinesite has also been cited to be assisting on the feature.

For Bird, Ray Gunn is an opportunity to push the boundaries of the medium. “There’s a big chunk of people who don’t watch animation,” Bird noted in the recent press release. “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.”

While there have been industry whispers of internal creative shifts and a turbulent production cycle at Skydance, animation fans remain incredibly eager to see Bird’s uncompromising vision finally realized.

When will Ray Gunn be released on Netflix?

Netflix has not announced an exact release date yet, but alongside a brand-new batch of “First Look” images, the streamer officially confirmed that Ray Gunn is slated for a 2026 premiere (expected in very late 2026), and given the caliber and ambition of the title, we can probably expect a big festival premiere.

That’s all we have for now on Ray Gunn – what do you think? Are you excited for the new film from Brad Bird? Let us know in the comments.