Netflix offers first look at Brad Bird's retrofuturist noir 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. 

“Ray Gunn has been in my mind for over 30 years. The film is a blend of sci-fi and classic detective movies from the ’40s…it’s Maltese Falcon meets Buck Rogers,” says Brad Bird in a press statement. “I’ve been a fan of both of those sort of genres, and blending them together seemed fun, and a chance to play with a lot of very cinematic elements, and extreme characters. There’s a big chunk of people who don’t watch animation. That’s a group I’m anxious to persuade because it’s an amazing art form that is way too limited in people’s minds. Animation as a medium is too interesting to limit what kind of stories can be told.” Johannson, who plays Venus Nova and calls it “a career milestone” to work with Bird, adds, “This project is so uniquely special because it is a total realization of where Brad is currently on his artistic journey.”

Ray Gunn doesn’t have an official release date yet, but Netflix expects it to debut in 2026.