Quick summary
- Scarlett Johansson voices the pop star Venus Nova in Ray Gunn, directed by Brad Bird.
- She and Bird discussed how the collaboration began in an interview with Awards Buzz, published on 13 November 2026.
- The film opens in select cinemas and on limited 70mm screens on 4 December.
- It streams on Netflix from 18 December.
Scarlett Johansson says she wrote back “Brad Bird!!!” with every exclamation mark when the script for Ray Gunn reached her. The actor and the director spoke to Awards Buzz this week about how their partnership on the Netflix animated feature began, a few weeks before the film arrives in cinemas.
A script she did not want anyone else to do
Johansson told Awards Buzz she was “an enormous fan” of Bird’s work and that the news of a Bird script had her thrilled. Her rule is simple, she said: if she loves a script and there is a part for her, she will most probably do it, and she doesn’t want another person playing a role she loves.
She also described the first meeting as a feeling-out process. Do the two of them like each other, and are they seeing the same thing? By that stage, she said, you are already working on the film “in a weird way”, because new ideas for the creative future start to appear. That spark between two creative people, in her words, is what the process is meant to be.
Bird on casting Johansson
Bird was just as warm in the interview. He told Awards Buzz he is “a huge fan” of Johansson and her career, and that the number of great films she has been great in makes his jaw drop. Having her on the project was, he said, a dream.
He added that her character was in the first draft in some form, which suggests the part was written before Johansson was attached. That detail comes from Bird’s own account in the interview, and the outlet doesn’t say when she signed on.
Who Venus Nova is
Johansson plays Venus Nova, described by Awards Buzz as a very famous and very temperamental pop star. The story follows private eye Ray Gunn, voiced by Sam Rockwell, who is pulled into an unpredictable conspiracy involving aliens and secret identities in 1939 Metropia. Nearly everything in it seems to circle Venus Nova.
Bird said he imagined her as “a train wreck” that audiences first react to with alarm, before they learn more and begin to sympathise. He called that a writing challenge: she has to be entertaining as a train wreck, and then the audience has to understand how she got there.
What happens next
Ray Gunn opens in select theatres and on limited 70mm screens on 4 December, according to Awards Buzz. It then arrives on Netflix on 18 December. Fans can follow more of our coverage on the Scarlett Johansson tag page, including a look at the new Ray Gunn trailer and the noir trailer. For her other recent work, see our Paper Tiger review.
Frequently asked questions
Who does Scarlett Johansson play in Ray Gunn?
She voices Venus Nova, a very famous and temperamental pop star at the centre of the film’s conspiracy, according to Awards Buzz.
When can I watch Ray Gunn?
It opens in select cinemas and on limited 70mm screens on 4 December and streams on Netflix on 18 December.
Who directed Ray Gunn?
Brad Bird directed it and wrote the script. Sam Rockwell voices the title character, private eye Ray Gunn.
