Quick summary
- Scarlett Johansson voices Venus Nova, a “multimedia star”, in Brad Bird’s animated film Ray Gunn.
- The film premiered at the BFI London Film Festival on 10 October 2026, according to What’s on Netflix.
- It arrives globally on Netflix on 18 December 2026, after a limited 70mm cinema run.
- Critics are split: the film opened with a 91% Rotten Tomatoes score, with a few lukewarm reviews.
A Men’s Journal headline this week pitched Johansson’s new Netflix film as a family-friendly stand-in for Despicable Me. The film is Ray Gunn, an animated sci-fi noir from Ratatouille director Brad Bird, and it reaches Netflix subscribers worldwide on 18 December, according to What’s on Netflix.
What is Ray Gunn about?
Johansson plays Venus Nova, a multimedia star pulled into a murder case. TheWrap reported in April that the story follows private eye Ray Gunn, voiced by Sam Rockwell, in a futuristic alternate 1939. The setting is a large city called Metropia, and Gunn lands in a tangle of murder and mayhem alongside Johansson’s femme fatale.
Tom Waits voices Eyera, Gunn’s alien sidekick. What’s on Netflix lists Matt Berry as the lead villain, with Alan Tudyk, Bobby Cannavale and Michael Chernus among later additions.
Bird described the film to TheWrap as “Maltese Falcon meets Buck Rogers”. That pitch is a long way from a minion comedy, which makes the Despicable Me comparison more of a marketing hook than a description of the film.
Why Johansson signed on
At the London premiere, Johansson said her reason was simple. “What attracted me was Brad, actually,” she told the festival audience, according to What’s on Netflix. She called Bird a longtime favourite and someone she had long wanted to work with. She added that he writes complex characters and approaches animation from many artistic angles, which made the job different from her other animated work.
The project has a long history. TheWrap says the concept predates The Iron Giant and began as a 2D feature at Turner Feature Animation, later Warner Bros. Feature Animation. It stalled when Bird moved to Pixar and then to live action, and Skydance Animation revived it after acquiring the rights from Warner Bros. It is Bird’s first wholly original animated feature since The Incredibles, more than 20 years ago.
Bird told the premiere crowd the idea started “kind of idiotically”, when he mistook the B-52s’ song “Planet Claire” for a new take on Henry Mancini’s Peter Gunn theme. Michael Giacchino, who also scored The Incredibles and Ratatouille, wrote the music.
How critics reacted
The gala premiere took place at the Royal Festival Hall, during the festival’s 70th anniversary. What’s on Netflix reports that the audience laughed throughout and applauded as the credits rolled.
Early reviews were mostly warm. The film debuted with a 91% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes. The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw gave it five stars, and IGN’s Jim Vejvoda gave it 8/10. Others were cooler. The Hollywood Reporter’s Angie Han described it as a blandly palatable mix of sci-fi and neo-noir clichés, and Variety’s Guy Lodge said it was never quite as funny as it should be. What’s on Netflix’s own review gave it 3.5 out of 5, praising Bird’s craft while wishing the film had been allowed to “fire at full power”.
What happens next
A limited 70mm theatrical run comes first, then the global Netflix release on 18 December 2026. Readers can follow more of Johansson’s recent work on the site’s Scarlett Johansson page, including our look at Scarlett Johansson on working with Brad Bird in Ray Gunn and the Ray Gunn trailer. More film coverage sits in our Movies section.
Frequently asked questions
Who does Scarlett Johansson play in Ray Gunn?
She voices Venus Nova, a multimedia star and femme fatale who is caught up in the murder case that private eye Ray Gunn investigates.
When can I watch Ray Gunn on Netflix?
Ray Gunn streams globally on Netflix from 18 December 2026. A limited 70mm cinema run comes before that.
Who directed Ray Gunn?
Brad Bird directed it and co-wrote the script with Matthew Robbins. Skydance Animation produced it for Netflix.
