San Diego Comic-Con 2026 will feature a dedicated retrospective honouring filmmaker Brad Bird's extensive creative output through a panel discussion examining his directorial philosophy and most celebrated projects. Attendees will receive exclusive material from his upcoming Netflix animated feature Ray Gunn, with Bird discussing the film's development trajectory, visual approach, and narrative framework.

Ray Gunn represents the realisation of a decades-long creative ambition that evolved from its original two-dimensional concept into a contemporary animated feature employing cinematic techniques typical of traditional filmmaking. The story unfolds in an alternate 1939 metropolis blending noir storytelling with science fiction elements, centring on a detective character who serves as the last human investigator in a society now shared between human and extraterrestrial populations, with the release scheduled for the streaming service in December.