Brad Bird’s long-awaited animated sci-fi noir Ray Gunn has finally shown its hand — a first clip, just 33 seconds long, spread online on Friday, 6 November 2026, after Scarlett Johansson previewed it in an interview on NBC’s TODAY.
The film is a passion project Bird has been trying to make for more than 30 years. Set in Metropia, a giant city in an alternate future as imagined from 1939, it follows private eye Raymond Gunn, who is drawn into a case involving aliens, murder and Venus Nova, a multimedia star.
Sam Rockwell voices Raymond Gunn, with Johansson as Venus Nova and Tom Waits as Eye-Ra. The supporting voice cast includes Matt Berry, Bobby Cannavale, Michelle Rodriguez, Alan Tudyk and Patton Oswalt. Michael Giacchino composed the score, and Kimbra wrote three songs for Venus Nova — one of them, “Too Much to Ask”, has been submitted for Oscar consideration.
Ray Gunn had its world premiere at the BFI London Film Festival on 10 October 2026. It opens in select theatres on 4 December, including in 70mm, before arriving on Netflix on 18 December. The film runs 119 minutes and reportedly cost more than 150 million dollars — a huge bet on hand-drawn-style animation in the streaming era.
The clip is short, but it is enough to show what Bird has been chasing all these years: a neon-soaked, art-deco future that looks like the 1930s dreamed it. For animation fans, it is one of the most anticipated releases of the year — and the wait is nearly over.
In other animation news, Skydance Animation’s John Lasseter will direct Cosmic Motors for a theatrical release in 2027, his first directing job since Cars 2 in 2011.
It has been a big week for trailers, from the The Gallerist trailer with Natalie Portman and Jenna Ortega to the final Godzilla Minus Zero trailer revealing King Ghidorah. Ray Gunn hits theatres on 4 December and Netflix on 18 December.
Bhudev Bhagaliya is an experienced and senior journalist who has carved a distinct niche for himself in the world of Hindi journalism through his profound understanding and precise writing style. With over two decades of experience in the field of journalism, he has held key responsibilities at Dainik Hindustan for 12 years and at Amar Ujala for one year. Currently, he serves as the Content Editor for the Jagrook Youth News newspaper and portal, where he plays a crucial role in ensuring the quality and credibility of the news content. Bhudev Bhagaliya consistently writes about issues that help raise awareness within society and among the younger generation.