In the past years, Netflix has slowly built one of the most impressive animated feature libraries. For instance, The Mitchells vs. the Machines delivered an inventive family adventure that became an instant cult favorite, Nimona tackled identity and belonging through a wildly entertaining fantasy lens, and The Sea Beast put a new spin on classic tropes. Then came KPop Demon Hunters, which became the most-watched film in Netflix history and claimed two Academy Awards at the 2026 Oscars, including Best Animated Feature. That extraordinary track record makes the arrival of Ray Gunn particularly significant, as the upcoming sci-fi noir feature marks the return of two-time Oscar winner Brad Bird—the director behind The Incredibles and Ratatouille—with a passion project three decades in the making. Netflix has now revealed the first look images for the film and announced a major new voice cast.
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Academy Award winner Sam Rockwell and Academy Award nominees Scarlett Johansson and Tom Waits have officially joined Ray Gunn as series regulars. Rockwell steps into the title role as Raymond Gunn, while Johansson voices Venus Nova, a multimedia star at the center of the film’s mystery. Finally, Waits voices a character named Eyera, who seems to be an alien ally of Rockwell’s noir detective. The first look images also introduce audiences to Metropia, a sprawling city set in an alternate future imagined through the aesthetic lens of 1939, where Raymond Gunn, the last human private detective, gets pulled into a case involving aliens, murder, and the glamorous Nova.
Ray Gunn Is Looking Like Another Win for Netflix
The creative assembled around Ray Gunn is exceptional even by the standards Netflix has set for its animation slate. Bird, who also wrote the original story and co-developed the screenplay with Matthew Robbins, is working alongside producers John Lasseter, Lisa Beroud, David Ellison, and Dana Goldberg at Skydance Animation, with a production budget reported to exceed $150 million. Composer Michael Giacchino, Bird’s longtime collaborator who scored both The Incredibles and Ratatouille, is back for Ray Gunn. The sheer volume of talent concentrated behind the camera positions Ray Gunn as one of the most ambitious animated productions in years.
Bird has been transparent about the film’s creative ambition and the personal weight the project carries for him. “Ray Gunn has been in my mind for over 30 years,” the director stated in Netflix’s press release. “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.”
The voice cast amplifies that ambition considerably, with both Rockwell and Johansson having previously appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Rockwell played the scheming industrialist Justin Hammer in Iron Man 2, and Johansson was Natasha Romanoff across more than a decade of MCU films. Johansson, in particular, was direct about the significance of joining the project. “Having the opportunity to collaborate with Brad Bird is a career milestone for me; I have loved his work my entire life,” she stated. “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.”
Ray Gunn is scheduled to be released on Netflix in 2026.
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