Brad Bird has spent more than three decades trying to bring Ray Gunn to the screen. Netflix released the first full trailer on September 23, offering a look at the director’s animated blend of detective noir and retrofuturist science fiction.
The film stars Sam Rockwell as private eye Raymond Gunn, Scarlett Johansson as megastar Venus Nova, and Tom Waits as Gunn’s one-eyed alien partner, Eye-Ra. Netflix says Ray Gunn will play in select theaters, including limited 70mm engagements, beginning December 4, then stream on Netflix from December 18.
A 1939 vision of the future
Ray Gunn is set in Metropia, a vast city imagined as if people in 1939 were predicting the future. Its streamlined Art Deco towers, flying cars and alien residents sit alongside murder, corruption and a detective who still works the old-fashioned way.
Bird has described the premise as “The Maltese Falcon meets Buck Rogers.” In Netflix’s synopsis, Raymond Gunn is drawn into a case involving aliens, murder and Venus Nova, a multimedia star whose fame brings trouble with it. The trailer’s central contrast is already clear: a retro future full of advanced machines, and a private eye who keeps doing the legwork himself.
That tension extends to the character. In Metropia, tiny “pry bots” handle much of a detective’s routine work, but Gunn and Eye-Ra continue to investigate in person. The setup gives Bird a science-fiction world while keeping the story rooted in a familiar hard-boiled mystery.
A project older than The Iron Giant
Netflix describes Ray Gunn as a project Bird has carried for more than 30 years, dating back to before The Iron Giant, his 1999 animated feature. The idea stayed with him while he went on to direct The Incredibles, Ratatouille and other live-action and animated films.
That long gestation is part of the film’s appeal, but it also makes the trailer a first test of a concept that has been changing alongside the animation industry. Rather than adapting an existing franchise, Bird is bringing an original detective story to a large-scale animated production at Skydance Animation.
Bird has also said he wants to reach viewers who assume animation is mainly for children. The noir influences, adult crime story and retro-science-fiction setting give Ray Gunn a different pitch from a conventional family comedy. Whether audiences follow that invitation is still an open question; the trailer is a first look, not a verdict on the finished film.
A limited 70mm run before Netflix
The December release gives the film a short theatrical lead-in. Netflix’s wording is specific: the movie will appear in select theaters, with limited 70mm presentations, on December 4. It reaches the streaming service two weeks later, on December 18.
The 70mm engagements fit the film’s emphasis on a densely designed city and cinematic scale, though Netflix has not announced a broad theatrical rollout. For a project that Bird has wanted to make for decades, the trailer introduces a world built from older influences and a format that asks some viewers to see it on a large screen.
There is still a long wait before audiences can judge whether the finished movie delivers on that world. For now, Ray Gunn has moved from a long-running idea to a dated release, with its first trailer finally showing what Bird has been imagining.
Sources
- Netflix Tudum: Ray Gunn trailer and Brad Bird interview
- Netflix Tudum: Ray Gunn first look and project background
- About Netflix: 2026 animation slate and Ray Gunn release details
- Ars Technica: Ray Gunn trailer, cast and release window
- TheWrap: Brad Bird on Ray Gunn and its theatrical presentation
