Brad Bird’s Ray Gunn to Be Voiced by Rockwell and Johansson
Netflix has revealed a first look at Brad Bird’s new animated film Ray Gunn, which will be voiced by Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johansson, and Tom Waits. The movie will begin streaming on Netflix in 2026.
Written, directed, and produced by Brad Bird (Incredibles 2, Ratatouille, The Incredibles, The Iron Giant), the film is officially described as follows: “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.”
“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,” said Bird. “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.
“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.”
“Having the opportunity to collaborate with Brad Bird is a career milestone for me; I have loved his work my entire life,” added Scarlett Johansson, who voices Venus Nova.
“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.”
The screenplay for Ray Gunn is by Bird and Matthew Robbins. The producers include John Lasseter, Brad Bird, Lisa Beroud, David Ellison, and Dana Goldberg for Skydance Animation.
Ray Gunn is part of Netflix’s original slate of animated features, which includes the most popular Netflix film ever, KPop Demon Hunters; Academy Award-winner Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, the Academy Award-nominated films Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, Nimona, The Sea Beast, The Mitchells vs. The Machines, Over the Moon, A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon, and Klaus; the BAFTA-nominated Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget; the comedy fan favorites Leo and Back to the Outback; and the upcoming Steps.
