Netflix Reveals First Look at Brad Bird’s Passion Project

For the past 30 years, Brad Bird has directed popular films like The Incredibles, The Iron Giant, and Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol. However, he’s been developing another project in his mind for years, and with Netflix‘s support, he was finally able to bring it to life.

Ray Gunn is an animated film that director Brad Bird has described as a unique mix of science fiction and old-fashioned detective stories. He compares it to a combination of The Maltese Falcon and Buck Rogers.

Bird said he enjoys both of those types of stories, and combining them felt like a fun way to incorporate dramatic, visually impressive scenes and compelling characters.

Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johansson, and Tom Waits are lending their voices to the new film, directed by Bird, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Matthew Robbins.

Ray Gunn is returning to directing with Ray Gunn, his first directorial project since Incredibles 2 in 2018. Although he contributed as a writer and executive producer to the upcoming Incredibles 3 at Pixar, he wasn’t the director.

Bird hopes his work on Ray Gunn will attract viewers who don’t typically watch animation. He believes animation is a fantastic and underappreciated art form with the potential to tell all kinds of stories, and he wants to broaden its appeal to a wider audience.

Here is Netflix’s official description of Ray Gunn.

In the futuristic city of Metropia, imagined as it might have appeared in 1939, detective Raymond Gunn investigates a complex case filled with aliens, a murder, and a famous actress named Venus Nova.

Ray Gunn will premiere on Netflix later in 2026.

The Most Underrated Steven Spielberg Movies

5. The Sugarland Express (1974)

Spielberg’s first major film clearly aimed to showcase his talent for exciting car chases, something he’d already demonstrated in his earlier TV movie, Duel. The story centers on a woman (Goldie Hawn) who breaks her husband (William Atherton) out of prison to get their son back from foster care. What follows is a thrilling, slow-motion chase across Texas, filled with some of Spielberg’s best comedic scenes and a strong conclusion. While still a bit unpolished, the film clearly signaled that Spielberg was a director with a bright future.

4. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

Despite Sean Connery being only twelve years older than Harrison Ford, casting him as Indiana Jones’ father was a brilliant move, and the two actors had fantastic chemistry together. Last Crusade feels a lot like a buddy cop movie, which is unusual for Spielberg. While it’s arguably the funniest of the Indiana Jones films, Last Crusade is also the most heartfelt and personal, exploring themes of strained father-son relationships and the passage of time in a surprisingly touching way. Raiders of the Lost Ark might be considered the best Indiana Jones film, but Last Crusade is perhaps the most enjoyable and endlessly rewatchable.

3. The Adventures of Tintin (2011)

I really think The Adventures of Tintin is an underrated gem. At the time, it didn’t quite click with everyone, but looking back, it feels like Spielberg’s last truly fantastic Indiana Jones film. It’s just a non-stop, exhilarating chase around the world, packed with incredible scenes and genuinely funny moments. It’s like being on a rollercoaster that never slows down! Spielberg was experimenting with motion capture for the first time, and he really threw himself into it – it felt like he’d been painting with just one color his whole career and suddenly had access to the entire rainbow. It’s frustrating that when it came out in 2011, some critics dismissed the amazing action and sweeping camera work just because it was done with digital effects. What they didn’t seem to realize is that Spielberg is so good at visual storytelling that he makes even incredibly complex feats look easy and effortless.

2. Bridge of Spies (2015)

Some might call Bridge of Spies old-fashioned, and they wouldn’t be wrong – it’s a long movie with a slow pace and a subtle visual style. But that classic approach actually suits the film’s focus on timeless values. Continuing the theme he explored in Lincoln, Spielberg uses a historical setting to showcase his idea of American heroism. He again stars Tom Hanks, known for portraying relatable, good-hearted characters, this time as an ordinary lawyer tasked with defending a captured Russian spy (Mark Rylance). While the film takes place in the 1950s and 60s, its themes feel surprisingly relevant today. Plus, it features memorable and quirky characters that are reminiscent of a Coen brothers film – and it turns out the Coens actually co-wrote the script with Matt Charman.

1. Catch Me If You Can (2002)

Despite being a light and fun film, Catch Me If You Can is also a surprisingly moving story about loneliness and the importance of family. It features a fantastic cast, including Leonardo DiCaprio as the clever con artist Frank Abagnale Jr., Christopher Walken as his struggling father, Jennifer Garner and Amy Adams as his love interests, and Tom Hanks as the determined FBI agent, Carl Hanratty.

The film’s exciting chase between Hanratty and Frank is both entertaining and heartbreaking. Both characters are incredibly lonely, and their pursuit of each other becomes the central focus of their lives, highlighted by their annual Christmas phone calls. In fact, Catch Me If You Can might be one of the most bittersweet Christmas movies ever made, rivaling even It’s a Wonderful Life. If you haven’t seen it, get ready for a joke…

2026-04-09 18:25