‘Ray Gunn’ Trailer: Brad Bird’s Noir-Inspired Animated Passion Project Comes to Netflix

The long-gestating film opens in select theaters on December 4 before streaming December 18.

For animation enthusiasts, few unmade projects have loomed larger than Brad Bird‘s “Ray Gunn.” Bird has spent more than a quarter century trying to make the film, which combines film noir themes and imagery with classic sci-fi elements for what promises to be a singular alien mystery. Given that Bird’s impeccable animation track record includes films like “The Iron Giant,” “The Incredibles,” and “Ratatouille,” expectations for the film are destined to be high.

After years of false starts, the film was finally revived by Skydance Animation, with a Netflix release planned for this holiday season. Now, Netflix has released the film’s first trailer as proof that Bird’s dream project is really arriving.

An official synopsis for the film reads: “In Metropia, a gigantic city in an alternate future as seen from 1939, private eye Raymond Gunn (voiced by Sam Rockwell) is drawn into a case involving aliens, murder and a multimedia star named Venus Nova (voiced by Scarlett Johansson).”

Additional voice actors include Tom Waits, Alan Tudyk, Matt Berry, Bobby Cannavale, Michael Chernus, Kether Donohue, Michelle Rodriguez, Aasif Mandvi, Matt Jones, Kathryn Hunter, John Ratzenberger, Justin Peck, and Patton Oswalt.

“Ray Gunn” will be Bird’s first animated film made outside of Pixar since “The Iron Giant” in 1999. The auteur clearly has no hard feelings towards his longtime creative home, as he’s still writing and producing a third “Incredibles” sequel. But in a recent interview with IndieWire, he explained that he declined to pitch “Ray Gunn” to Pixar with the hope that a different distributor would help it reach a more adult audience.

“I wanted it to go to a slightly different audience, and I wanted there to be a huge amount of overlap, obviously. The Pixar audience is wide, and I love that, and I love working with Pixar,” Bird said. “I wanted to make this a little bit different flavor wise, and that’s why I didn’t pitch it at Pixar. Because they have their lane, and I can get down with that lane, but I don’t see this movie going down that lane. I wanted to aim it a little older. Not majorly older, teenager is fine. But make something a little more adult and major.”

“Ray Gunn” will open in select theaters, including some 70mm screenings, on Friday, December 4 before streaming on Netflix on December 18. Watch the official trailer below.