Brad Bird chose Skydance Animation to reach audiences beyond Pixar’s traditional family demographic.
Ray Gunn stars Sam Rockwell and Scarlett Johansson in a futuristic detective mystery.
Netflix will release Brad Bird’s long-awaited animated feature in December.
Filmmaker Brad Bird has explained why he took Ray Gunn, his long-awaited science-fiction animation, to Skydance Animation instead of Pixar. The director behind The Incredibles and Ratatouille wanted greater room to explore stories aimed at teenagers and adults, an audience he believes animation has underserved. He shared these insights in an interview with Variety.
The film follows private detective Ray Gunn, voiced by Sam Rockwell, as he investigates a conspiracy involving Venus Nova, a superstar singer voiced by Scarlett Johansson. Set in a retro-futuristic world inspired by classic detective stories, the project has been nearly three decades in the making.
Why Brad Bird chose Skydance over Pixar
Bird explained that Pixar’s established identity could have shaped audience expectations in ways that did not suit his film.
“If you put a Pixar label on it people would go, ‘Oh well, it’s meant for the same audience that these other films were meant for,’ and inevitably some of them would go, ‘Well, my little Jimmy would be unhappy at this.’”
He argued that animated films for older viewers should be treated as a normal creative choice rather than a controversial one.
“Making animated films for them ‘shouldn’t be a controversial decision,’” Bird said, adding that the idea had often been treated that way by Pixar’s decision-makers.
Skydance offered him the opportunity to pursue a different audience. His previous collaboration with the studio on Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol also helped establish the relationship.
Ray Gunn brings a decades-old idea to Netflix
Bird first conceived Ray Gunn after hearing The B-52s’ song Planet Claire, which reminded him of detective television and 1950s science-fiction films. Other projects repeatedly delayed its development, although he continued revisiting the screenplay.
Composer Michael Giacchino, who has collaborated with Bird since The Incredibles, returned to score the film. Its story explores art, technology and corporate greed, themes Bird believes remain relevant.
“People are people and greed is greed and the flaws of people make good subject material for films,” Bird said.
Ray Gunn premiered at the BFI London Film Festival on October 10 and is scheduled to arrive on Netflix on December 18, 2026.
