Scarlett Johansson and Tom Waits to star in Brad Bird’s new Netflix animated movie, ‘Ray Gunn’
Scarlett Johansson, Tom Waits, and Sam Rockwell are set to lend their voices to Brad Bird’s new animated movie, Ray Gunn.
As per the official synopsis, the animated movie is likely to depict a dazzling underworld in an alternate future.
Netflix has explained, “Set in the gigantic city Metropia 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.”
Johansson, Waits, and Rockwell join voice actor John Ratzenberger in the Skydance Animation feature. The movie will likely be released on the platform later this year.
Bird will act as producer, writer, and director on his first project since 2018’s Incredibles 2. He was also the creative mastermind behind 2004’s cult-classic Incredibles, and will soon reintroduce audiences to the beloved superheroes in Incredibles 3, slated for a 2028 release.
In a new director’s statement, Bird shared, “Ray Gunn has been in my mind for over 30 years. The film is a blend of sci-fi and classic detective movies from the ’40s…it’s Maltese Falcon meets Buck Rogers.”
The director elaborated, “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 knows that there are plenty of adult film-goers who “don’t watch animation”, but he hopes that his unlikely blend of the classic thriller genres with the medium might invite new viewers.
The filmmaker added, “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.”
Bird might be worrying about converting adults to the medium, but he’s always had a fan in Johannson. The Jurassic World: Rebirth star shared, “Having the opportunity to collaborate with Brad Bird is a career milestone for me; I have loved his work my entire life.”
See the first preview of the animation in the social media post below.
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