^{Credit: Ray Gunn (Netflix, Skydance Animation)}

Netflix has dropped the first trailer for Brad Bird’s Ray Gunn, which, after decades in development, finally found a home at Skydance Animation. The trailer not only showcases stunning visuals that seamlessly blend a futuristic setting with retro noir vibes, but an all-star voice cast that includes Sam Rockwell and Scarlett Johansson. Time will only tell if the story is on par with the animation and talent involved. Seeing how Bird has already won two Best Animated Feature Oscars for The Incredibles and Ratatouille, though, there’s no reason to believe that Ray Gunn won’t be an awards player. Bird could even win his third Oscar, although he wouldn’t be the only one who gets a statuette.

In addition to the director, the Best Animated Feature Oscar can be presented to a film’s producers. Among Ray Gunn’s five credited producers is Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison, who has become one of the most divisive names in Hollywood. He’s also set to become possibly the most powerful man in Hollywood, with Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery taking the next step forward. The pending merger received significant pushback from creatives and lawmakers alike, expressing concerns over potential job losses, reduced competition, and Ellison’s ties to Donald Trump. Reports that Elon Musk is now being considered as an investor aren’t encouraging either.

With an antitrust lawsuit settled earlier this week, there’s little standing in the way of this deal, which Ellison hopes to seal by October. You might be wondering how Paramount and Warner Bros., two legacy studios, became vulnerable to Skydance, which Ellison founded in 2006. While there are numerous factors we don’t have time to unpack here, it doesn’t hurt that David Ellison’s father is Larry Ellison, the co-founder of Oracle Corporation and one of the richest individuals on the planet. Larry is largely responsible for bankrolling his son’s rise to the top of the Paramount mountain and soon the Warner Bros. Water Tower.

While it’s easy to attribute David Ellison’s ascent to nepotism, the same can be said about Laika CEO Travis Knight. Laika wouldn’t exist without Knight’s father, Phil Knight, co-founder of Nike. Say what you will about “nepo babies,” but Laika has made one great film after another, with Wildwood, which Travis Knight directed, in the running for Best Animated Feature consideration. Studios with tech ties aren’t inherently bad either. Steve Jobs was a key figure at Pixar, after all. Where Laika and Pixar kicked off their phenomenal runs with Coraline and Toy Story, though, Skydance’s first film was the box-office bomb Flyboys. Ellison appeared alongside James Franco in that 2006 flop, although he’s since left acting behind.

Skydance helped bring us other films like 2017’s Baywatch, Terminator Genisys, Geostorm, Gemini Man, The Tomorrow War, Ghosted, and both The Family Plan movies. Of course, no studio is without misfires. Skydance has worked on some great films like Air, Annihilation, and every Mission: Impossible movie since Ghost Protocol, the latter of which Brad Bird directed. Most notably, Skydance co-produced the box office sensation Top Gun: Maverick, which got a Best Picture nomination. With Ellison being one of that film’s producers, he got to share in the Oscar nomination. At that year’s Oscar nominees luncheon, Steven Spielberg thanked Tom Cruise for saving Hollywood. Ellison may’ve had a hand in saving Hollywood with Top Gun: Maverick, but is he about to destroy it with this merger?

One encouraging element of the merger is that Ellison will supposedly commit to releasing at least 30 movies theatrically every year. Even if Ellison does meet that quota, the quality of those movies may leave something to be desired. At the 98th Academy Awards, Paramount Pictures received zero Oscar nominations. Paramount’s Oscar outlook isn’t looking much better this year between Scream 7 and Scary Movie (6). Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender is being submitted for Best Animated Feature consideration, although Paramount didn’t do that film any favors by moving its general release to streaming.

Beyond the quality of the movies made on Ellison’s watch, there have been concerns about those he’s willing to do business with. Later this year, Paramount will release Ebenezer starring Johnny Depp, who’s gunning for a comeback vehicle following over a decade of scandals. There’s still talk of Paramount producing Rush Hour 4 with director Brett Ratner of Melania fame returning. Then there’s Skydance Animation, which Ellison put John Lasseter in charge of following his contentious exit from Pixar amid misconduct allegations. Lasseter is also a producer on Ray Gunn and thus could share in an Oscar nomination as well.

Skydance Animation didn’t get off to the best start with 2022’s Luck, which debuted on Apple TV, and Spellbound, which commenced a partnership with Netflix. Yet, Skydance and Netflix had a huge success earlier this year with Swapped, which became one of the streamer’s ten most-viewed original films of all time. Swapped is the streamer’s second-most-viewed animated feature behind KPop Demon Hunters. Reviews for Swapped were more mixed, but ultimately positive, with critics recognizing that Skydance has upped its game in terms of presentation. Ray Gunn could be the next step forward, solidifying Skydance as a major contender in the animation game.

If Ray Gunn does live up to the hype, the discourse surrounding Ellison (or Lasseter, for that matter) probably won’t hurt its Oscar chances. It’s not as if Ellison or Lasseter is the main visionary behind Ray Gunn. That would be Bird, who’s one of the most beloved individuals in the industry. Bird did dodge an awkward question at Annecy when someone brought up Lasseter. As long as Bird and Netflix’s awards team play their cards right, though, the Academy can turn a blind eye to some of the producers.

The Academy has ignored bigger elephants in the room. It’s been just over twenty years since Roman Polanski won Best Director for The Pianist – an Oscar he couldn’t accept in person without running the risk of arrest. You could argue that was the old Academy, but under a decade ago, Mel Gibson got a Best Director nomination for Hacksaw Ridge following multiple “career-ending” incidents. Woody Allen was a consistent Oscar player throughout his years of bad press. Granted, Allen hasn’t been nominated since 2013’s Blue Jasmine, although that was also arguably his last good movie.

Ray Gunn is still in a somewhat awkward position, seeing how Paramount Skydance beat out Netflix in the bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery. Not long after, it was announced that Paramount and Skydance Animation’s deal was coming to an end. Whether or not there are hard feelings between the two camps, it shouldn’t affect Ray Gunn’s awards prospects. Netflix is taking Ray Gunn to BFI for its world premiere on October 10. Ray Gunn is then getting a limited theatrical release on December 4 ahead of its December 18 streaming debut. Netflix is clearly confident the film is going to be a hit. If it is, Netflix will soak up all of the accolades that Ray Gunn can bring. Netflix may even promote itself as “The Studio That Brought You Ray Gunn,” despite only being its distributor.

Even if Ray Gunn goes all the way at the Oscars, there’s a possibility that Ellison (or Lasseter) isn’t included. Academy rules specify that “There is a maximum of FOUR designated nominees” for Best Animated Feature. An additional producer can be added if two people are considered “a bona fide team,” like Phil Lord and Chris Miller. Along with Bird, Ellison, and Lasseter, Lisa Beroud and Dana Goldberg produced Ray Gunn. Unless two of them are considered a team, one of the producers will have to be left off. In any case, there will be at least one problematic name on the ballot.

As concerned as I am about the future of Hollywood under Ellison’s control, Ray Gunn remains one of my most anticipated movies for the rest of 2026. The banger trailer only gives me more confidence to predict Ray Gunn for a Best Animated Feature nomination. However it turns out, I’m genuinely happy that Bird is finally bringing his passion project to the screen. If Ellison finds himself accepting an Oscar alongside Bird, though, he won’t just have all the money in the world and a stranglehold on Hollywood (+ the news). Ellison will have prestige, which may be the hardest pill for Film Twitter to swallow.

Nick Spake is the Author of Bright & Shiny: A History of Animation at Award Shows Volumes 1, 2, and 3. Available Now!