First Images: Brad Bird’s “Ray Gunn”

Netflix and Skydance Animation have unveiled the first official photos from the long-gestating, neo-noir sci-fi action animated movie “Ray Gunn” premiering later this year.

The film is a passion project of “The Incredibles,” “The Iron Giant,” “Ratatouille” and “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol” director Brad Bird.

The film unfolds in Metropia, a gigantic city in an alternate future as seen from 1939. Private eye Raymond Gunn, the last human private detective in a futuristic world, is drawn into a case involving aliens, murder, and a multimedia star named Venus Nova.

Oscar winner Sam Rockwell stars as Raymond Gunn alongside Oscar nominee Scarlett Johansson as Venus Nova and actor Tom Waits as Eyera. Rockwell and Johansson previously worked together on “Iron Man 2” and “Jojo Rabbit”. Bird says in a statement:

“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.”

Bird co-wrote the screenplay with Matthew Robbins and marks his first non-Pixar directorial animated project since 1999’s “The Iron Giant”. John Lasseter, Brad Bird, Lisa Beroud, David Ellison, and Dana Goldberg produce.

RAY GUNN, a new original animated film from writer-director Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Ratatouille), is coming soon to Netflix.

Starring Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johansson, and Tom Waits.

Set in the gigantic city Metropia in an alternate future as seen from 1939, private eye… pic.twitter.com/LfxvZcR8Gw

— Netflix (@netflix) April 9, 2026