Brad Bird's 'Ray Gunn' Premieres: Rockwell & Johansson in Netflix — SkimNews
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- Ray Gunn world premiered Saturday at the London Film Festival as a Brad Bird-directed animated sci-fi/film noir mashup set in 'Metropia,' an alternate future channeling 1939, with a 1 hr 59 min runtime and PG rating.
- Sam Rockwell voices the titular analog private detective in a digital world, partnered with Tom Waits as cyclopian alien Eye Ra Kadock, while Scarlett Johansson plays pop superstar Venus Nova, accused of murdering an ex-husband.
- Alan Tudyk voices Venus's first ex-husband and manager Barry Vogel, with Matt Berry as alien mob boss Slugsy, Bobby Cannavale as Moon Room co-owner Arnold Dam, Michelle Rodriguez as Police Capt. Roz Drexler, and Kathryn Hunter as ralien smuggler Vanzine Kaluta.
- Skydance Animation's original deal with Netflix produced the film, with David Ellison, Bird, John Lasseter, Lisa Beroud and Dana Goldberg producing; Netflix releases it theatrically December 4, 2026 and streams it December 18.
- Michael Giacchino scored the film, with songs by New Zealand's Kimba showcased in Johansson's musical moments, and Bird co-wrote the script with Matthew Robbins.
- The Deadline review frames the film as a potential Best Animated Feature Oscar contender out of the Netflix/Skydance pipeline, while Variety's headline calls it 'Giddy Retro-Futurist Noir With More Energy Than Charm' and IndieWire flags a 'Muddled Message' — a critical split the dominant framing softens.
Why it matters: Bird's first feature since 2018's Incredibles 2 doubles as a high-profile test of the Skydance–Netflix animation partnership and David Ellison's awards pipeline, with a December theatrical window before streaming that gives the film a shot at the Best Animated Feature race.
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