Netflix highlights several upcoming titles during Annecy 2026, including Ghostbusters Night Shift, Ray Gunn, Steps, and Charlie Vs. The Chocolate Factory.
Ahead of Netflix‘s appearance at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival 2026, they hosted several journalists to get an exclusive first look at what they would be showcasing. Mama’s Geeky was lucky enough to be in the room to learn about their star-studded slate of upcoming projects.
From terrifying trips to 1990s New York to modernized Roald Dahl classics and retro-futuristic film noir, the streaming giant proved it treats animation not as a children’s genre but as a cinematic medium.
Ghostbusters Night Shift
Netflix is officially expanding the canon of one of the world’s most beloved franchises with Ghostbusters Night Shift. Executive Producers Jason Reitman and Gil Kenan kicked off the presentation by letting us know that this isn’t a nostalgic Saturday morning cartoon, it is something much darker.
“We knew if we were going to return to animation, this show needed to be excellent, and maybe something a little bit scarier,” Kenan shared. “We wanted it to be dangerously funny, actually scary, and 100% Ghostbusters.”
Showrunners Elliot Kalin and Ben Hibon then spoke about the series, confirming the show is officially set in 1994. It serves as a canonical bridge mapping out who defended New York City after the original Ghostbusters disbanded but before the Afterlife generation stepped in.
The new team consists of five young adults: The Goth, The Punk, The Kid, The Con Man, and The Scientist – plus a chaotic Terror Puppy (based on the Terror Dogs from the original Ghostbusters) whose urine literally bursts into flames.
Visually, they highlighted a grimy, DIY punk, street-level aesthetic utilizing a “tactile and tangible visual language” designed to fit seamlessly between the live-action movies. Fans can also look forward to “Ecto-94” – a customized, spray-painted van with a roof-mounted spinning turret that will evolve throughout the series (think the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ van).
I was already excited about this show but after being treated to a clip, it became the thing I was most excited about from the presentation. What we saw was genuinely scary. I jumped a mile (more than once).
The concept art of the different ghouls and monsters that are to come in the show are unique and chilling. This series is something that teens and tweens are going to be able to watch with their parents and have a blast. My family will be all in, that’s for sure.
Ghostbusters: Night Shift will release globally on Netflix in 2027.
Ray Gunn
In what was a major highlight of the presentation, animation legend Brad Bird (The Iron Giant, The Incredibles) joined us to discuss Ray Gunn, a passion project decades in the making.
Described by Bird as The Maltese Falcon meets Buck Rogers, the film is a retro-futuristic detective noir set in 1939’s version of the future. It stars Sam Rockwell as Raymond Gunn, the last human private eye, and Scarlett Johansson as a pop star caught in a dangerous web of murder and alien secrets.
During the conversation, Brad Bird revealed the film’s hilarious origin story. He misunderstood the song “Planet Claire” by The B-52’s on the radio, initially thinking it was a cover of Henry Mancini’s Peter Gunn theme. Once the tune switched, it sent his brain spiraling, and he started thinking about combining old school detectives and Science Fiction. The rest is history.
“Caricature is about capturing the essence of something and making it more so,” Bird explained. “Animation is a medium that can do any genre. So the more that animation can mix it up and not be worried about little Jimmy all the time… little Jimmy will also grow up to be older Jimmy.”
When discussing why the project had to be animated, Bird adamantly rejected the old-school rule that “if you can do it in live-action, don’t do it in animation.”
We were shown an extended scene that showcased the action as well as the quieter moments. Sam Rockwell, to no one’s surprise, is brilliant. In this sort of heist sequence (no spoilers here), the animation is stunning and the characters intriguing. It’s equal parts funny, charming, and thrilling.
The film will release globally on Netflix December 18, 2026.
Charlie Vs. The Chocolate Factory
Coming to Netflix in 2027, directors Jared Stern and Elaine Bogan are bringing a contemporary, authorized twist to the Roald Dahl universe. The film kicks off with an unbelievable premise: Willy Wonka—voiced by Taika Waititi—has just finished serving a prison sentence (and not the chocolate kind) for the crime of turning a child into a blueberry.
“Wonka returns to his factory determined to add a little sweetness to a bitter world,” Stern teased. Set in modern-day London, the film promises a heist-like narrative involving a plot to “rob the candy manor,” complete with original songs and a combination of brand-new characters and surprising returns.
Steps
Turning the classic Cinderella fairy tale completely on its head, Steps gives the historically maligned “evil” stepsisters a chance to control the narrative. Directed by Alyce Tzue and John Rippa, the movie follows stepsister Lilith (voiced by Ali Wong), who accidentally breaks the classic story when she steals the fairy godmother’s wand and turns her sister Margo (Stephanie Hsu) into a frog.
Alyce Tzue shared a deeply personal connection to the film’s core theme of belonging.
“I grew up in this small tiny town. I was the only Asian girl in my class,” Zhu revealed. “I honestly felt like I’d never find my happily ever after… The message we want to send with Steps is that everyone, even those that are different, that feel overlooked, deserve their happily ever after.”
The film will release globally on Netflix on November 20, 2026.
In Waves
Lastly, Netflix showcased its recent Cannes acquisition, In Waves, an emotional, in-competition animated memoir dealing with first love and grief. Director Phuong Mai Nguyen emphasized how the medium uniquely served the emotional weight of the story: “Animation helped us to move very freely between memories, history, reality, and dreams, much like the waves themselves.” Read our In Waves review.
The film will release globally (excluding France) on Netflix on December 11, 2026.
