Rights holder / Distributor: Skydance Animation / Netflix
Ray Gunn (Ray Gunn) is a 2026 American animated science fiction crime noir film directed by Brad Bird from a screenplay by Brad Bird and Matthew Robbins. It premiered in the United States on December 18, 2026, on the Netflix movie platform.
Plot
The story takes place in Metropia, a vast futuristic city set in an alternate 1939, where humans and aliens coexist. Raymond "Ray" Gunn, one of the last remaining human private investigators, finds himself drawn into a case involving murder, aliens, and the famous multimedia star Venus Nova. The investigation takes him between the glamorous world of celebrity and the darker streets of Metropia.
Venus finds herself at the center of a scandal that threatens both her career and her life. Ray works alongside his one-eyed alien colleague Ira as the case gradually exposes him to a world of crime, corruption, and dangerous adversaries. The classic detective story is given an unusual sci-fi setting, in which the human detective seems like a relic from another era.
Directing
Brad Bird builds Ray Gunn as a combination of detective noir and science fiction, with the visual world of Metropia being created with a distinct retro-futuristic style. The director himself describes the idea as a meeting between the classic private detective and adventure science fiction. This approach places the story both within a familiar criminal framework and in a completely different environment.
For Bird, the project has a particularly long history – the idea for it has existed for more than 30 years, since the beginning of his career. The director is familiar with The Iron Giant, The Incredibles and Ratatouille, and Ray Gunn allows him to return to animation with an original story for an adult audience, without abandoning his characteristic interest in adventure and strong characters. Among Bird's films, this is a production that most directly addresses the classic detective genre.
Acting
Sam Rockwell voiced by Raymond Gunn, and Scarlett Johansson lends her voice to Venus Nova. The two are at the center of the mystery, with Rockwell bringing the grit of a private investigator to his character, while Johansson's character combines the public image of a star with the dangers of scandal. Tom Waits completes the main trio as Ray's alien counterpart, Ira.
The voice cast also includes Matt Berry, Alan Tudyk, Bobby Cannavale, Michelle Rodriguez, Patton Oswalt, Catherine Hunter, John Ratzenberger, Asif Mandvi and Michael Chernus. Brad Bird also voices two of the alien characters. Such a cast is particularly fitting for a production that relies on a large number of unusual characters and the contrast between the human detective and the alien world around him.
Conclusion
Ray Gunn uses the basis of the classic private detective noir, but transfers it to a retro-futuristic world, where flying cars, aliens and giant urban spaces coexist with familiar criminal motifs. The story of Ray Gunn and the investigation of Venus Nova allows Brad Bird to combine mystery, action, comedy and science fiction. The visual concept is an essential part of the identity of the production.
For fans of animated films that are not limited to traditional family stories, Ray Gunn offers an unusual combination of crime noir and science fiction. With Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johansson, and Tom Waits leading the voice cast, the production has enough distinguishable characters around which to build its mystery. After more than three decades in development, the project finally reaches the screen as one of the most unusual animated productions of 2026.
