However, in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the film was released direct-to-streaming on Disney+.

Luca premiered at the Aquarium of Genoa on June 13, 2021, and was originally set to be released theatrically in the United States on June 18, 2021. Dan Romer composed the film's musical score.

Development on Luca lasted for five years, with production being done remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. Casarosa described the result as a film that 'pays homage to Federico Fellini and other classic Italian filmmakers, with a dash of Miyazaki in the mix too'. As with La Luna (2011), the design and animation were inspired by hand-drawn and stop motion works and Hayao Miyazaki's style. The sea monsters, a 'metaphor for feeling different', were loosely based on old Italian regional myths and folklore. Luca draws inspiration from Casarosa's childhood in Genoa, Italy several Pixar artists were sent to the Italian Riviera gathering research from Italian culture and environment to create Portorosso, the primary setting. Set on the Italian Riviera, the film centers on Luca Paguro (Tremblay), a young sea monster boy with the ability to assume human form while on land, who explores the town of Portorosso with his new best friends, Alberto Scorfano (Dylan Grazer) and Giulia Marcovaldo (Berman), experiencing a life-changing summer adventure. It stars the voices of Jacob Tremblay and Jack Dylan Grazer, with Emma Berman, Saverio Raimondo, Marco Barricelli, Maya Rudolph, Jim Gaffigan, Peter Sohn, Lorenzo Crisci, Marina Massironi, and Sandy Martin in supporting roles.

The film was directed by Enrico Casarosa in his feature directorial debut, produced by Andrea Warren and written by Jesse Andrews and Mike Jones from a story by Casarosa, Andrews, and Simon Stephenson. Luca is a 2021 American computer-animated coming-of-age fantasy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures.

Luca poster