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Netflix Unveils Brad Bird’s ‘Ray Gunn’ With Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johansson and Tom Waits for 2026 Release

The reveal signals Netflix’s push into prestige animation with a high-budget original from a two-time Oscar winner.

Overview

  • Netflix and Skydance Animation, which shared first-look images Thursday, confirmed the principal voice cast and set a 2026 streaming window.
  • Sam Rockwell plays private eye Raymond Gunn in Metropia, an alternate-future city seen from 1939, with Scarlett Johansson as star Venus Nova and Tom Waits as an alien character.
  • Brad Bird directs from a script he co-wrote with Matthew Robbins, reuniting with composer Michael Giacchino and working with producers John Lasseter, Lisa Beroud, David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Bird himself.
  • The project began as Bird’s 1996 script and shifted from a planned hand-drawn feature to a modern CG film at Skydance, with industry reports pointing to a budget above $150 million.
  • The announcement positions Ray Gunn as a flagship title in the Skydance–Netflix pact and marks Bird’s return to original animated filmmaking after ‘Incredibles 2’ in 2018.