Brad Bird took to San Diego Comic-Con 2026 to discuss his cinematic journey which Disney fans will know from his time at Pixar but also includes other gems like THE IRON GIANT. His latest project? A new animated film called RAY GUNN for Netflix.

Here’s a look at what we got to see during the Brad Bird: My Cinematic Journey panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2026.

The Brad Bird: My Cinematic Journey panel in the legendary Hall H was moderated by Collider’s editor-in-chief, Steven Weintraub and spotlighted Academy Award–winning filmmaker Brad Bird. Fans of the mouse may best know him as the director behind THE INCREDIBLES and RATATOUILLIE with involvement spanning beyond those films as part of the esteemed Pixar Brain Trust. His visit to San Diego this year was to treat eager fans to some of his latest work on his upcoming Skydance Animation and Netflix feature, RAY GUNN, which hits theaters later this year. He also shared an exclusive first look at the film with an 8-pminute clip plus shared details about the film’s story, style, and what to expect from this latest venture. A special surprise guest also joined the panel, Michael Giacchino, who has frequently worked with Bird creating music for his films.

Below are some of the highlights from the panel.

On his philosophies

  • Bird said his time working on The Simpson’s showed him early in his career how to work fast, efficiently, and decisively
  • He also shared that while arguing against notes can get you labeled as DIFFICULT but Bird said he always measured notes and only spoke up when the notes were… Stupid
  • “It’s all film, man” — Bird reflects when he’s on a live action film and they tell him he stages it like for animation but then on animated films they say he stages like for live action.
  • On the allure of working with Pixar in the early days, “They protect stories. They make an environment that protects stories” Bird remaked, that trumped the initial criticisms of “selling out” to work on CG animation.

On his projects

  • On why IRON GIANT wasn’t an immediate success, Bird commented he thinks it was a little thing called marketing, or lack thereof. But he thinks it was an all day Thanksgiving marathon that changed the tide and had audiences find the film
  • On the impact of Ratatouille, Bird said that when you build on your career success, you’re supposed to get faster and louder. He is proud to have gone quieter and slower. Workig with Peter O’Toole as Anton Ego was “fantasy stuff”

Ray Gunn

  • Brad Bird said his upcoming neo-noir sci-fi film RAY GUNN is a cross between Maltese Falcon and Buck Rogers.

On the future

  • Patton Oswalt had a question via video asking if Bird would ever work on an episodic animated feature. Short answer, yes. Topic? The 1906 Earthquake in San Francisco. But it would have to be cinematic in scale. Maybe 8 episodes.
  • Bird’s next project? He’s writing a project that’s “Live action but with animation”

About RAY GUNN

In Metropia, a gigantic city in an alternate future as seen from 1939, private eye Raymond Gunn (Sam Rockwell) is drawn into a case involving aliens, murder, and a multimedia star named Venus Nova (Scarlett Johansson).

RAY GUNN beams onto Netflix on December 18, 2026.

ray gunn movie netflix official

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San Diego Comic-Con takes place July 23 – July 26, 2026.

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