Brad Bird’s Futurist Noir Brings Sci-Fi to the Animated World

Brad Bird is responsible for some of our most beloved animated films. Whether you sobbed over Iron Giant or still scream “Where’s my super suit?” when talking about The Incredibles, he had a hand in making our childhoods that much more special. Now, his latest film Ray Gunn takes Bird into a world he’s never been in before: The future, sort of. Well, and adult animation.

The 2026 sci-fi noir film stars Sam Rockwell as a detective in a world split between aliens and humans. When he has to start to investigate a mysterious death that Venus Nova (Scarlett Johansson) potentially had a hand in, all bets are off. And the new trailer for Ray Gunn paints a thrilling picture.

The Futuristic Past Looks Bright

Written by Bird and Matthew Robbins, the story is different from what we’ve seen from Bird in the past. It still has his unique lens to it but it does feel like something fresh. Joining Rockwell and Johansson is a stacked cast, including Tom Waits as Raymond’s fellow detective and more. The full cast is listed as: Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Waits, Alan Tudyk, Matt Berry, Bobby Cannavale, Michael Chernus, Kether Donohue, Michelle Rodriguez, Aasif Mandvi, Matt Jones, Kathryn Hunter, John Ratzenberger, Justin Peck, Patton Oswalt.

Ray Gunn is described as follows: “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.”

A Perfect Genre for Brad Bird’s Style

Part of what made The Incredibles work was Bird’s style of animation. It has always felt warm and futuristic and unique to him as a director and creator. With Ray Gunn, that style fits perfectly while mixing sci-fi with noir. The trailer looks and feels just like Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner felt at the time.

I keep thinking there are no nice surprises any more and then you show up.

There is a lot we still don’t know about the film and maybe that’s by Raymond Gunn’s design. Or whoever is the one behind the mysterious murder but it is going to be exciting to see what Bird has for us, especially when he’s working on a third film in his Incredibles franchise. For now though, we can enjoy detective Sam Rockwell in all his glory.

You can see the trailer here:

Ray Gunn is in select theaters and on limited 70 mm screens starting on December 4 before its Netflix release on December 18.