Fans of The Incredibles and Ratatouille have a new Brad Bird movie to look forward to—and this one is very different from his family-friendly classics. Ray Gunn is a long-awaited animated sci-fi detective story that has been decades in the making, and Netflix has finally revealed when audiences can see it.
Ray Gunn will arrive in select theaters on December 4, 2026, including a limited number of 70mm screenings, before beginning its Netflix streaming run on December 18. The film recently received its first full trailer, offering a glimpse at Bird’s retro-futuristic vision.
The story takes place in Metropia, a massive city imagining what the future might have looked like from the perspective of 1939. Private detective Raymond Gunn becomes involved in a case involving aliens, murder and superstar Venus Nova.
Bird has described the movie as “Buck Rogers meets The Maltese Falcon,” combining classic science fiction with hard-boiled detective stories.
Who Stars in Ray Gunn?
Sam Rockwell provides the voice of Ray Gunn, while Scarlett Johansson plays Venus Nova. Tom Waits voices Eyera, a one-eyed alien who serves as Gunn’s closest companion.
The impressive voice cast also includes Alan Tudyk, Matt Berry, Bobby Cannavale, Michelle Rodriguez, Patton Oswalt and John Ratzenberger. Bird wrote the screenplay with Matthew Robbins, with Michael Giacchino composing the score.
The project has been in Bird’s imagination for more than 30 years, making its arrival a particularly long-awaited one. For parents, it’s also worth noting that this isn’t being positioned as a traditional children’s cartoon; its noir story and mature themes make it more of a family movie for older kids and adults.
Brad Bird Has a Proven Animation Track Record
Bird’s reputation comes from a remarkably successful run of animated films. He directed The Iron Giant, The Incredibles and Ratatouille, with The Incredibles and Ratatouille both earning him Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature.
His work has also demonstrated that animation can appeal beyond young children. Bird has argued that “Animation as a medium is too interesting to limit what kind of stories can be told,” a philosophy that appears central to Ray Gunn.
For families familiar with Bird’s superhero adventures, Ray Gunn could offer something quite different: an animated mystery with science-fiction spectacle, noir influences and a decidedly grown-up tone.
