Here's a shocker: Brad Bird, who has arguably done his best work at Pixar, is going to make an animated movie for someone else. The Oscar-winning director, who serves as part of Pixar's Brain Trust, will make Ray Gunn for Skydance Animation.
The film is a passion project of Bird's that he's being trying to make for nearly 30 years. Originally created alongside Matthew Robbins, it's reportedly the story of the last human private detective, Raymund Gunn, in a future world full of both humans and aliens. He's hired to investigate the pop singer Venus Envy to find out if she's cheating on her husband. However, Gunn finds out that she's being set up by her husband to make it look like she killed her body double.
Whether that'll still be the story remains to be seen (Robbins is still aboard to co-write), but this represents Bird being lured away from the Emeryville studio by its old creative boss, John Lasseter, who left under a dark cloud of sexual harassment scandal. It's also not Bird's first go-around for Skydance: the company produced Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.
"From his work on The Iron Giant to The Incredibles films and the work we did together on Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Brad is one of the greatest filmmakers working in the industry today,” said Skydance CEO David Ellison. "As a lifelong fan of animation, it is incredibly rewarding to be re-teaming with him to create this bold new world and we’re excited to get started."