#FIRSTLOOK: NETFLIX ANNOUNCE UPCOMING ANIMATION SLATE FOR 2026 AND BEYOND

Netflix has announced their upcoming 2026 and beyond animation slate.

Debuts Include First Look at Ghostbusters: Night Shift Series, Teaser for THE ONE PIECE Anime, Release Dates & New Images for Films Ray Gunn, Steps, In Waves, New Look at Ricky Gervais’ Adult Comedy Series Alley Cats

What’s New:

First Look, Concept Art & Logline for Ghostbusters: Night Shift. The series will release globally on Netflix in 2027.

New Teaser & Images for THE ONE PIECE. The series will release globally on Netflix in February 2027.

New Images, Concept Art & Release Date for Steps. The film will release globally on Netflix on November 20, 2026.

New Image & Release Date for In Waves. The film will release globally (excluding France) on Netflix on December 11, 2026.

New Images & Release Date for Brad Bird’s Ray Gunn. The film will release globally on Netflix December 18, 2026.

New Image for Ricky Gervais’ Alley Cats. The series will release globally on Netflix August 7, 2026.

New Image for Netflix Annecy 2026 Line Up:
Top Row from Left to Right: Yuji Yamano (Director, Content-Japan), Yuki Igarashi (Director, THE RIBBON HERO), Dan Casey (Art Director, Steps), John Ripa (Director, Steps), Jason Figliozzi (Head of Character Animation, Steps), Jane Hartwell (Producer, Steps), Priscilla Bertin (Producer, In Waves), Ben Hibon (Executive Producer, Ghostbusters: Night Shift), Elliott Kalan (Executive Producer, Ghostbusters: Night Shift), Amie Karp (Executive Producer, Ghostbusters: Night Shift), Heather Tilert (Vice President, Animation Series, Kids + Preschool)
Bottom Row from Left to Right: Hannah Minghella (Head of Netflix Animation Studios), Alyce Tzue (Director, Steps), Brad Bird (Director, Ray Gunn), Phuong Mai Nguyen (Director, In Waves), Jason Reitman (Executive Producer, Ghostbusters: Night Shift), Gil Kenan (Executive Producer, Ghostbusters: Night Shift)
Netflix today revealed new details about its upcoming animation slate, fresh off the Annecy International Animation Film Festival stage, where we hosted multiple presentations covering films, series, anime, from CG to hand-drawn, kids to family and adult content.

Netflix has become a go-to destination for animation in all its forms, with more than 130M members around the world watching a variety of animated titles every month. And anime fandom continues to grow at Netflix where programming topped more than 1.5B views in 2025.

Today’s announcements follow an unprecedented year for Netflix Animation, with the triumphant KPop Demon Hunters taking home a history-making two Oscars® and becoming Netflix’s most popular film of all time, spending over a year in Netflix’s Global Top 10*; 13 Annie Awards wins including three for Love, Death + Robots; and Ultraman: Rising nabbing the Children and Family Emmys for Outstanding Animated Special and Sound Mixing & Sound Editing for an Animated Program.

Film:

IN WAVES
Release date: December 11, 2026
Logline: In Los Angeles, AJ, a shy teenager, meets Kristen. She lives for surfing; he loves skateboarding and drawing. They fall madly in love, and a happy future seems within reach. But everything changes when Kristen faces a sudden illness. Together, they face adversity, driven by the strength of their love, their friends, and their newly shared passion for surfing and the ocean.
Director: Phuong Mai Nguyen
Writers: Fanny Burdino, Samuel Doux (Based on the graphic novel by AJ Dungo)
Producers: Priscilla Bertin, Judith Nora
Cast: Will Sharpe, Stephanie Hsu
Images: New Image; Previously Released Images; Talent Images from Annecy

RAY GUNN
Release date: December 18, 2026
Logline: In Metropia, a gigantic city in an alternate future as seen from 1939, private eye Raymond Gunn is drawn into a case involving aliens, murder and a multimedia star named Venus Nova.
Director: Brad Bird
Producers: John Lasseter, David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, and Lisa Beroud
Cast: Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Waits
Animation Studio: Skydance Animation
Images: New Image; Previously Released Images; Concept Art; Talent Images from Annecy

THE RIBBON HERO
Release date: August 8, 2026
Director: Yuki Igarashi
Inspired By: “Princess Knight” by Osamu Tezuka
Original Character Design: Kei Mochizuki
Character Design Cooperation: Mai Yoneyama
Animation Character Design: Issei Arakaki
Art Director: Cedric Herole
Production Company: Twin Engine
Animation Studio: Outline
LOGLINE: Yuki Igarashi, regarded as one of the industry’s most versatile animators, directs the film. He first drew wide attention for the sophisticated animation he handled alone as key animator on the ending sequence of Jujutsu Kaisen Season 1. His directorial debut, Star Wars: Visions – Lop & Ochō, received high praise in Japan and abroad for its delicate storytelling and dynamic action scenes. THE RIBBON HERO marks Igarashi’s first time directing a feature-length film.
Bringing together a team of highly skilled creators, the film depicts the story of a lone hero who chooses to defy a harsh destiny, set in a delicately crafted world and brought to life through polished action.
Assets: Main Trailer, New Images, Previously Released Key Art; New: Talent Images from Annecy

STEPS
Release date: November 20, 2026
Synopsis: Think you know Cinderella’s “evil” stepsisters? Think again. Sick of living in Cinderella’s shadow, Lilith (Ali Wong) steals the Fairy Godmother (Bette Midler)’s magic wand and hijacks the Royal Ball with her sister Margot (Stephanie Hsu), breaking the Cinderella story as we know it and dooming the kingdom to the tyrannical rule of Priscilla (Nikki Glaser), a villainous schemer who swoops in and snatches the throne. Now, Lilith must team up with Cinderella (Amanda Seyfried) to fight biker trolls, outrun evil henchmen, and escape the Screaming Woods on an epic quest to save the kingdom, but most importantly, their relationship.
Produced by: Amy Poehler, Jane Hartwell, Kim Lessing. Poehler and Lessing producing for Paper Kite Productions.
Screenplay By: Ava Tramer, James Madejski, Jen Chuck, Dana Schwartz, Felicia Ho
Story By: Ava Tramer, James Madejski, Dana Schwartz, Felicia Ho, Riki Lindhome, Kate Micucci
Cast: Ali Wong, Amanda Seyfried, Stephanie Hsu, Nikki Glaser, Bette Midler
Animation Studio: Netflix Animation Studios
Images: New Images; Previously Released Images; Concept Art; Talent Images from Annecy

Series:

ALLEY CATS
Release date: August 7, 2026
Synopsis: Alley Cats is a sitcom created by and starring the multi-award-winning Ricky Gervais. The adult animation follows the trials and tribulations of a group of feral British cats from all walks of society, who seek companionship while ruminating on everyday life. From the funny to the absurd, the series is packed with Gervais’ signature style of heart and social commentary that audiences have come to expect.
Creator and Director: Ricky Gervais
Co-director: Elliot Dear
Executive Producers: Ricky Gervais of Derek Productions, Steven Hamilton Shaw of Shush Creative. James Stevenson Bretton and Ben Lole for Blink Industries.
Producer: Hugo Donkin
Production Designer: Tang Heng
Cast: Ricky Gervais, Tom Basden, Andrew Brooke, David Earl, Kerry Godliman, Jo Hartley, Diane Morgan, and also featuring Natalie Cassidy and Tony Way
Animation Studio: Blink Industries
Asset: New Image, Previously Released Images

GHOSTBUSTERS: NIGHT SHIFT
Release date: 2027
Logline: New York City, 1994 — Five years after the Ghostbusters took the Statue of Liberty for a walk, a new wave of supernatural terror hits the Big Apple, forcing a group of scrappy, young New Yorkers — untrained, underappreciated, and kinda sorta responsible for the problem — to put on proton packs, face their fears, and bust some ghosts.
Executive Producers: Ben Hibon, Elliott Kalan, Jason Reitman, Gil Kenan, Amie Karp, and Dan Aykroyd
Images: First Look; Concept Art; Talent Images from Annecy

THE ONE PIECE
Release date: February 2027
Original manga by: Eiichiro Oda (Weekly Shonen Jump, Shueisha)
Synopsis: Produced by WIT Studio, THE ONE PIECE is a brand new anime adaptation starting from the very beginning of the original manga’s East Blue saga. Separate from the TV anime series that has charged full speed ahead over the course of more than 25 years, this series taps into the expressive potential of modern technology to offer a familiar yet fresh take on the adventures of Luffy.
Director: Masashi Koizuka
Assistant Director: Hideaki Abe
Series Composition: Taku Kishimoto
Character Design & Chief Animation Directors: Kyoji Asano, Takatoshi Honda
Creature Design & Image Boards: Yasuhiro Kajino
Prop Design: Eri Taguchi
Action Animators: Ken Imaizumi, Shuhei Fukuda
Art Director: Tomonori Kuroda
Animation Producer: Ryoma Kawamura
Animation Studio: WIT STUDIO
Images: Concept Art, Episode 1 Episodic Art, New Images