Netflix used its Annecy International Animation Film Festival platform on Wednesday to unveil a slate of high-profile projects, led by a first look at Brad Bird’s Ray Gunn and new details on its upcoming Ghostbusters series. The streamer also confirmed December release dates for Ray Gunn and its Cannes animation acquisition In Waves, positioning both as potential Oscar contenders.
Ray Gunn, Bird’s long-gestating noir sci-fi film, will debut globally on Netflix on December 18. The film, set in an alternate 1939 Metropia, follows private eye Raymond Gunn as he investigates a case involving aliens, murder, and a multimedia star named Venus Nova. Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johansson, and Tom Waits lead the voice cast, with Skydance Animation producing. Netflix revealed new images and Ray Gunn concept art at its presentation.
‘Ray Gunn’
Skydance Animation
Netflix also revealed a first look of Ghostbusters: Night Shift, a new animated TV series set in 1994, on the Ghostbusters timeline between Ivan Reitman’s original films from the 1980s and the 2020s sequels, Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021), and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024), directed by Jason Reitman and Gil Kenan. Reitman, Kenan and Dan Aykroyd are executive producing the new series. Netflix unveiled concept art for the series, which promises a more gritty, retro aesthetic and a mix of franchise-specific humor and supernatural scares. Ghostbusters: Night Shift is set to deliver in 2027.
‘Ghostbusters: Night Shift’
Ghostbusters: Night Shift – Cr: Sony Pictures Animation
The streamer’s December awards push includes In Waves, a surfing story about love and grief acquired out of Cannes, which will release on December 11. Directed by Phuong Mai Nguyen and starring Will Sharpe and Stephanie Hsu, the film adapts AJ Dungo’s graphic novel about a teenager navigating love and loss. Netflix is positioning it alongside Ray Gunn as a key prestige play.
‘In Waves’
Courtesy of Netflix © Silex Films – France 3 Cinéma – Gao Shan Pictures – Charades productions – Panique!
On the more commercial side, Netflix also presented Steps, a subversive Cinderella retelling from director Alyce Tzue and Amy Poehler’s Paper Kite Productions, which bows November 2. Voice talent includes Ali Wong and Amanda Seyfried.
‘Steps’
Netflix Animation
Other highlights from the Annecy presentation included a new teaser for The One Piece, the streamer’s upcoming anime adaptation of Eiichiro Oda’s manga, set for a February 2027 release. WIT Studio is producing the series, which is promising a “fresh take” on the long-running franchise, separate from both Toei Animation’s original anime and Netflix’s one One Piece live-action series.
Netflix teased Ricky Gervais’ upcoming adult animation comedy series Alley Cats with a first-look image. The show, which premieres August 7, follows a group of feral British cats navigating life’s absurdities.
‘Alley Cats’
Courtesy of Netflix
Netflix framed the announcements as part of its growing dominance in animation, citing 130 million monthly viewers and 1.5 billion anime views in 2025. The streamer’s recent successes include KPop Demon Hunters, which won two Oscars, and Ultraman: Rising, which took home Children and Family Emmys.
