Skydance Animation and Netflix have finally set a release date for Brad Bird’s next sci-fi animated feature, Ray Gunn. The director behind hits like The Iron Giant, The Incredibles, and Ratatouille last released a feature in 2018 with The Incredibles 2. The eight-year drought between movies is almost over, however, as Ray Gunn is officially coming to Netflix in December.
While the time between The Incredibles 2 and Ray Gunn sure seems long, Bird has actually been working on his latest movie for even longer than that. The director has said he first wrote a version of the script in 1996 while still working at Warner Bros. Animation. The film is a mashup of retro-futuristic sci-fi and classic noir detective stories. “Maltese Falcon meets Buck Rogers,” Bird said in a press release. The movie takes place in Metropia and follows the titular Raymond Gunn (voiced by Oscar winner Sam Rockwell) as he investigates a case “involving aliens, murder, and a multimedia star named Venus Nova.” Nova will be voiced by Scarlet Johansson (The Avengers, Under the Skin).
Ray Gunn reunites Bird with former Pixar colleague John Lasseter, who is serving as a producer. Lasseter left Pixar and Disney in 2018 following allegations of sexual misconduct. Lisa Beroud, David Ellison, and Dana Goldberg are also producing, with musician Tom Waits rounding out the announced cast alongside Rockwell and Johansson.
The release date announcement for Ray Gunn was just one piece of news from the streaming giant among a slew of animation updates at the 2026 Annecy International Animation Film Festival. This comes as part of a major push from Netflix to establish itself as a home for animation projects (feature-length and series) following the massive success of 2025’s KPop Demon Hunters, which took home Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song at the Oscars and is the most popular film of all time on the streaming service (according to Netflix). Other showings at Annecy included a teaser for The One Piece, the new animated adaptation of the long-running manga that Netflix also has a live-action adaptation of. A first look was also offered for Sony Pictures animation’s Ghostbusters: Night Shift, which is slated for 2027, as is The One Piece.
On the feature front, Netflix announced a Dec. 11 release date for In Waves. The animated film was a hit at this year’s Cannes festival and Netflix picked it up, most likely with the hope that it can repeat Oscar luck two years in a row. In Waves is adapted from a 2019 graphic novel memoir of the same name by AJ Dungo about love, grief, and surfing. Before that, though, Netflix will drop the Cinderella retelling Steps on Nov. 20.
Ray Gunn will arrive for the holidays, arriving on Netflix on Dec. 18.
The Incredibles and Iron Giant director teases a first look at his long-awaited return to big-budget sci-fi
Starring Sam Rockwell and Scarlet Johansson