Brad Bird’s Ray Gunn Trailer Pairs Sam Rockwell’s Worn-Out Detective With Scarlett Johansson’s Superstar

Sam Rockwell’s detective has a problem bigger than a difficult client: his profession is becoming obsolete. Netflix’s new Ray Gunn trailer introduces a futuristic city where tiny investigative robots can do much of a private eye’s legwork. Raymond Gunn still works the streets, alongside an alien partner voiced by Tom Waits.

Brad Bird’s animated mystery is due on Netflix on December 18, with select cinemas and a limited 70mm release from December 4. Those are two different ways to see the film, separated by two weeks. The November 12 trailer announcement does not provide a complete list of cinemas or promise a 70mm screening in every market.

A star walks into the detective story

Scarlett Johansson voices Venus Nova, a controversial superstar whose circle draws Ray into the mystery. The setting is Metropia, a city shared by humans and aliens. Flying cars and towering Art Deco-inspired buildings give it the spectacle of science fiction; murder and corruption supply the detective story underneath.

Rockwell plays Raymond Gunn, and Waits is his one-eyed partner Eye-Ra. That pairing makes the film’s central contrast easy to grasp before its plot is fully known. Ray is doing an old job in a place determined to look new. His human and alien neighbours have futuristic tools, but the investigation still depends on following people through a city with secrets.

Netflix describes Venus’s associates as a dangerous circle. That is the announced premise, rather than a revelation about who committed a crime. There is no need to solve the film from a trailer or treat every glamorous character as its villain.

Why Bird’s influences matter

In Netflix’s interview, Bird traces the idea to the beginning of his career and brings together detective noir and space adventure. He points to Bogart films, Out of the Past and the detective worlds associated with Philip Marlowe and Sam Spade. Those references suggest how to read the new footage: the shining skyline and the shadowy street are parts of the same design.

Bird directed The Incredibles and Ratatouille, but the new film is not being presented as another instalment of either. His stated aim is to widen the kinds of stories animation can tell. That is a creative intention, not an independent verdict on whether the finished film succeeds. The trailer offers the first useful evidence of its tone; a full assessment has to wait for the film.

Put the right December date in your diary

Anyone interested in the limited 70mm run should check an individual cinema’s programme and format before buying a ticket. “Select theatres” gives no assurance about a nearby screen. For the streaming release, Netflix lists December 18.

Our recent look at Danny Boyle’s Ink also separates a cinema date from a Netflix date. The same distinction helps here, although the films have different stories and release arrangements. Ray Gunn’s immediate attraction is the voice cast and Bird’s return to a long-developed idea. The practical decision for viewers is whether to seek a theatrical presentation or wait for the Netflix release, once local availability is clear.