Quote:Finally, a First Look at Brad Bird’s New Animated Sci-Fi Detective Movie
'Ray Gunn' features the voices of Sam Rockwell and Scarlett Johansson and hits Netflix later this year.
BY GERMAIN LUSSIER
PUBLISHED APRIL 9, 2026, 10:00 AM ET


Sam Rockwell and Tom Waits as characters in Brad Bird's new movie, 'Ray Gunn.' © Netflix

He made The Iron Giant. He made The Incredibles. He made Ratatouille. Basically, when Brad Bird makes a movie, especially an animated movie, you get excited. And now, finally, after years of anticipation, the first look and news from his new animated movie, Ray Gunn, is finally here.

Set for release on Netflix later this year, the film features the voices of Sam Rockwell as the title character, a private eye in an alternate future as seen from 1939, who gets into a case involving “aliens, murder, and a multimedia star named Venus Nova.” She’s voiced by Scarlett Johansson. You see Ray above, but here are a few other images too, most of Venus.


Oh, and Tom Waits voices Eyera, the green character hanging with Ray.

“Ray Gunn has been in my mind for over 30 years,” Bird said in a 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 sort 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,” he continued. “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,” Johansson said. “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.”

To recap: it’s a sci-fi, hard-boiled, animated detective movie from Brad Bird, with Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johansson, and Tom Waits. Can you say one of the most anticipated films of the year?