After three decades, Ray Gunn is almost here.
Netflix and Skydance Animation have revealed a first look at the animated neo-noir cyberpunk sci-fi film, as well as its voice cast. Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johansson, and Tom Waits are lending their voices to Ray Gunn.
On joining the project, Johansson said the following:
“Having the opportunity to collaborate with Brad Bird is a career milestone for me; I have loved his work my entire life. This project is so uniquely special because it is a total realization of where Brad is currently on his artistic journey. I can’t wait for audiences to see this extraordinary animation that looks like nothing else out there.”
The streamer also unveiled first-look stills on X, which you can view above and below.
“Set in the gigantic city Metropia in an alternate future as seen from 1939, private eye Raymond Gunn (Rockwell) is drawn into a case involving aliens, murder, and a multimedia star named Venus Nova (Johannson),” reads the logline for Ray Gunn.
“Ray Gunn has been in my mind for over 30 years,” Bird said in a directors’ statement, via Deadline. “The film is a blend of sci-fi and classic detective movies from the ’40s…it’s Maltese Falcon meets Buck Rogers. 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.”
Bird added, “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.”
Bird directed Ray Gunn from a script he co-wrote with Matthew Robbins, based on his own original story. John Lasseter, Brad Bird, Lisa Beroud, David Ellison, and Dana Goldberg produced the picture for Skydance Animation. It will be released on Netflix later this year.
Are you happy to see Bird’s passion project finally realized? Do you think Ray Gunn will have been worth the 30-year wait? Tell us down in the comments!
