Scarlett Johansson stars in a new sci-fi movie that looks as if Blade Runner was made by Pixar. The sci-fi genre has been having a great run in recent years on both film and TV. On the big screen, franchises like Dune, original movies like Everything Everywhere All At Once, and adaptations like Project Hail Mary have given the sci-fi genre a boost, and there are more exciting movies to come in 2026.
Streaming platforms have also been home to some of the best sci-fi movies in recent years, with Netflix standing out with movies like Okja, Don’t Look Up, and It’s What’s Inside, all of them with different styles, tones, and mixed with other genres. Netflix’s catalogue of sci-fi movies continues to expand in 2026, and one of its most intriguing projects is Ray Gunn, an animated movie directed by Brad Bird, best known for The Iron Giant and his work with Pixar as director of The Incredibles, its sequel, and Ratatouille.
With a story by Bird and written by him and Matthew Robbins, Ray Gunn is set for a December 18, 2026, release on Netflix. Among the strengths of Ray Gunn is its voice cast, counting on the talents of Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, Tom Waits, and Patton Oswalt, along with its concept that’s reminiscent of Blade Runner. Its animated format, along with Bird’s involvement, makes Ray Gunn feel like Pixar’s Blade Runner, and it has a lot of potential to succeed.
Ray Gunn Is A Fascinating Mashup Of Different Styles & Genres
Ray Gunn takes the audience into a futuristic world to meet the title character (voiced by Sam Rockwell), a small-time private detective and the last human one. Gunn will meet Venus Nova (Johansson), a pop star dealing with a scandal that could destroy her career and potentially end her life, too. The world of Ray Gunn is inhabited by humans and aliens, and at the time of writing, that’s all that’s known about the movie’s plot and characters – however, the official images that have already been released give a good look at its style.
Netflix has some great animated movies, such as Klaus, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, and KPop Demon Hunters, all of them with different styles and covering different genres. It’s not surprising, then, that Ray Gunn has its own style and mix of genres. The first images of Ray Gunn show its futuristic world with massive holograms, flying cars, and Gunn himself at his office with an alien (most likely Waits’ character, Eyera).
Ray Gunn brings together sci-fi and mystery, with a bit of a noir style too (narratively rather than stylistically, as it has a bright and colorful look). The mix of a detective, aliens, a futuristic world, and a mystery involving a pop star makes Ray Gunn one of the most creative and unique sci-fi movies of the year, and it could be one of Netflix’s biggest successes of 2026.
After 30 Years In The Pipeline, Ray Gunn Looks Worth The Wait
Ray Gunn is a project that has been in development for a long time. Bird came up with the idea for Ray Gunn in the 1980s, with the character’s name being a play on the word “raygun.” Bird then started developing the idea of a movie that mixed noir detective stories of the 1930s and 1940s in a futuristic setting (via IndieWire), and the project was set to become a reality in the 1990s. However, Bird went on to direct The Iron Giant, and Ray Gunn was left aside (but was never forgotten).
Ray Gunn finally went into active development in 2021, and in 2024, it was announced to be released on Netflix. Bird’s dedication to the project is such that in 2025 he dropped out of directing The Incredibles 3 to focus on Ray Gunn, with Peter Sohn taking over the third Incredibles movie. It has been a long process for Ray Gunn to finally become a reality, and so far, it looks like it will be worth the wait.
At the time of writing, a teaser or trailer for Ray Gunn hasn’t been released, but so far, it’s on the right path to appeal to a wide audience. Ray Gunn could be the next big Netflix animated movie, further cementing the streamer as a worthy competitor in the field of animation.
Source: IndieWire.