Brad Bird’s 'Ray Gunn' on Netflix: Release Date, Runtime, Plot, Cast & Everything We Know

Ray Gunn Netflix Movie Everything We Know So Far

Picture Credits: Netflix

After nearly 30 years in development (in various forms and statuses), legendary animation director Brad Bird’s passion project, Ray Gunn, is finally seeing the light of day. Slated to arrive exclusively on Netflix in late 2026, the sci-fi noir detective story will be the third feature film to emerge from the multi-year deal between Netflix and Skydance Animation.

Beyond the initial announcement back in 2024 that the movie would be part of the Skydance Animation slate coming to Netflix, there was mostly radio silence on the project—but a whole lot of hype. That all changed following Netflix’s massive showcase at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival earlier this year, where we finally got our first real look at the film.

Here is our fully updated, comprehensive guide to Ray Gunn, including the star-studded voice cast, the plot, the powerhouse creative team, brand-new runtime and rating info, and the film’s long journey to our screens.

The 30-Year Journey to Netflix

Ray Gunn is the ultimate passion project. Brad Bird and Matthew Robbins originally wrote the script way back in 1996. The movie went into development at Turner Animation (Warner Bros.). For decades, it was envisioned as a 2D hand-drawn animated film but struggled to find a studio willing to back its ambitious scale and slightly more mature tone.

Brad Bird Opens Up About the Decades-Long Journey to Make ‘Ray Gunn’ With Netflix

The idea itself, however, came from a surprisingly goofy place: a misheard pop song. Speaking at Annecy Animation Film Festival, Bird revealed the spark came when he misheard the B-52s track “Planet Claire,” mistaking it for Henry Mancini’s famous “Peter Gunn” theme, which resulted in the mashup name “Ray Gunn.”

The project was finally revived at Skydance Animation under the leadership of John Lasseter. Originally set up at Apple TV+, the massive sci-fi epic—which reportedly carries a budget exceeding $150 million—found a new home when Skydance signed a multi-year overall pact with Netflix. It eventually transitioned from its original 2D roots into a cutting-edge 3D CG animated feature, with Cinesite assisting on the production.

But animation purists, rejoice! As Bird detailed during a special Annecy panel we extensively covered, Ray Gunn relies entirely on pure keyframe animation. There is absolutely no motion capture used in the film.

What is the plot of Ray Gunn?

Ray Gunn is an ambitious sci-fi noir that blends 1930s pulp detective tropes with expansive, futuristic world-building grounded entirely on Earth.

The official synopsis teases:

“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.”

Director Brad Bird recently described the film as the ultimate mash-up of genres. “The film is a blend of sci-fi and classic detective movies from the ’40s… it’s Maltese Falcon meets Buck Rogers,” Bird noted.

In this sprawling retro-futuristic metropolis, humans and aliens awkwardly coexist. The world leans heavily into optimistic Art Deco and Streamline designs inspired by Hugh Ferriss and Raymond Loewy. But beneath that shiny exterior lies a classic noir underbelly full of desperate characters and corruption. When the hard-boiled private investigator takes on a new murder case, he finds himself tangled in a massive conspiracy centered around the city’s biggest celebrity.

Thematically, Bird has said the film deals heavily with identity, specifically people who are hiding aspects of themselves, reminding us that we all have “multiple characters in us.”

RAY GUNN – 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. Cr: Skydance Animation/Netflix © 2026

During the Annecy Film Festival, lucky attendees were treated to the first seven minutes of the film (which kicks off with a visually gorgeous heist), as well as a clip of Ray trying to lowball a weapons dealer at $40 for an alien-tech “L8-13 Fire Blaster” after his own gun breaks. Based on those early looks, Netflix has a serious awards contender on its hands this holiday season.

Who is in the voice cast for Ray Gunn?

Netflix and Skydance Animation have lined up an incredible voice cast to bring the stylized citizens of Metropia to life.

Sam Rockwell (Argylle, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) leads the cast as the titular Raymond Gunn, a gritty human gumshoe navigating a treacherous, alien-filled mystery.
Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow, Her) voices Venus Nova, an enigmatic multimedia star wrapped up in Gunn’s murder investigation. Johansson previously praised the project, calling collaborating with Bird a “career milestone” and promising an animation style that “looks like nothing else out there.”
Tom Waits (The Ballad of Buster Scruggs) joins the cast as an alien named Eyera, bringing his signature gravelly voice to the neo-noir world.
“Buck” – In a hilarious reveal at Annecy, Bird shared that the voice of a snarky underground weapons dealer featured in an exclusive clip wasn’t an A-lister, but rather his son’s soccer coach, Buck!

Who is behind the movie?

Ray Gunn is directed by two-time Academy Award winner Brad Bird, the visionary filmmaker behind beloved animated classics like The Iron Giant, The Incredibles, and Ratatouille. Bird also developed the original story and co-wrote the screenplay alongside Matthew Robbins (Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio).

The film boasts a massive, top-tier creative team behind the scenes:

Producers: John Lasseter, Brad Bird, Lisa Beroud, David Ellison, and Dana Goldberg (producing for Skydance Animation), alongside Connie Nartonis Thompson, Hannah Minghella, Alex Schwartz, and Karen Rupert Toliver.
Composer: Oscar-winning composer Michael Giacchino (Up, The Incredibles, The Batman) reunites with Bird to provide the score.
Costume Design: Neysa Bove (Moana, Encanto)
Editors: Darren T. Holmes and Karl Armstrong
Visual Effects: Adel Abada, James Rothwell, Joshua Herrig, and Julia Spurek
Casting: Odin Erickson, Jason Henkel, Danielle Morozin, and Aspen Ramsdell
Additional Directing: Yarrow Cheney (The Secret Life of Pets)
Assistant Director: C.J. Hsu
Set Decoration: Jeff Wagner

Ray Gunn Runtime and Age Rating

We have some exclusive new updates regarding the final cut of the movie!

We can officially confirm that Ray Gunn will have a runtime of 1 hour and 59 minutes.

Additionally, the film has officially been rated PG (controversial given that many expected it to be PG-13) for violence, action, language, some suggestive material, and thematic elements. This rating perfectly aligns with the slightly more mature, gritty neo-noir tone Bird has been promising for decades, ensuring it packs a punch without losing its broad appeal.

When will Ray Gunn be released on Netflix?

If you were following our Next on Netflix Animation roundup from Annecy, you already know the good news.

Ray Gunn will officially premiere globally on Netflix on December 18, 2026.

The release was a hotly contested war of words between Skydance and Netflix per an exclusive report from The Wrap. Earlier this spring, an opportunity arose for Ray Gunn to get a massive theatrical push. Greta Gerwig’s Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew was originally scheduled for a two-week exclusive IMAX theatrical window this Thanksgiving before hitting Netflix in December. When Narnia was delayed to February 2027, the Ray Gunn team aggressively lobbied to take over that Thanksgiving IMAX slot. Brad Bird is no stranger to IMAX, having successfully pushed for a highly lucrative “roadshow” release for Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.
However, Netflix opted to pass on Ray Gunn for the slot. Instead, the streamer awarded the highly coveted IMAX window to David Fincher’s upcoming Once Upon a Time in Hollywood sequel starring Brad Pitt as Cliff Booth.

Are you excited for the new film from Brad Bird? Let us know in the comments down below. (You can also catch up on all of our early Ray Gunn coverage right here.)