Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell to Star in Brad Bird’s "Ray Gunn"

Scarlett Johansson has joined the cast of Brad Bird's new animated movie, "Ray Gunn,". Johansson will lend her voice to Nova.

Sam Rockwell and Tom Waits will also star in the project.

Johansson, Rockwell, and Waits will join voice actor John Ratzenberger in the Skydance Animation feature.

“Ray Gunn” is set in Metropia, a gigantic city in an alternate future as seen from 1939, where private eye Raymond Gunn is drawn into a case involving aliens, murder and a multimedia star named Venus Nova.

Bird is on board as producer, writer, and director.

He helmed 2004’s “The Incredibles” and 2018’s “Incredibles 2,” and this marks his first film since 2018. Bird is also suiting up again to write and produce “Incredibles 3” slated for release in 2028.

Skydance Animation’s John Lasseter, David Ellison, and Dana Goldberg are set to produce the film, which will be released by Netflix later this year.

In 2023, Skydance Animation struck a deal to exclusively release its animated movies directly to Netflix in an arrangement that spans multiple years.

Earlier this year, Netflix won the animated feature Oscar for “KPop Demon Hunters” which became its most-watched movie of 2025.

Also, on its animation slate are the upcoming “Steps,” featuring Amanda Seyfried as the voice of Cinderella, and “Swapped,” abuddy comedy about a small woodland creature (voiced by Michael B. Jordan) and a majestic bird (voiced by Juno Temple).

Johansson was the recipient of Variety’s Legends and Groundbreakers Award at the Newport Beach Film Festival in 2025.

She worked her way up to being the industry’s top-paid female star, locking in (and later fighting to be fairly compensated for) that title as Marvel’s Black Widow character.

Last year, she appeared in “Jurassic World: Rebirth” and she brought her feature directing debut “Eleanor the Great” to Cannes.

Next up, she’s set to appear in the “Exorcist” movie for Universal and Blumhouse-Atomic Monster.