diff --git a/apps/basic-example/android/app/build.gradle b/apps/basic-example/android/app/build.gradle
index 55f355a603..9403ff43ee 100644
--- a/apps/basic-example/android/app/build.gradle
+++ b/apps/basic-example/android/app/build.gradle
@@ -117,7 +117,7 @@ android {
             // see https://reactnative.dev/docs/signed-apk-android.
             signingConfig signingConfigs.debug
             minifyEnabled enableProguardInReleaseBuilds
-            proguardFiles getDefaultProguardFile("proguard-android.txt"), "proguard-rules.pro"
+            proguardFiles getDefaultProguardFile("proguard-android-optimize.txt"), "proguard-rules.pro"
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/apps/basic-example/android/gradle.properties b/apps/basic-example/android/gradle.properties
index 9afe61598f..ef26ec3275 100644
--- a/apps/basic-example/android/gradle.properties
+++ b/apps/basic-example/android/gradle.properties
@@ -42,3 +42,8 @@ hermesEnabled=true
 # This allows your app to draw behind system bars for an immersive UI.
 # Note: Only works with ReactActivity and should not be used with custom Activity.
 edgeToEdgeEnabled=false
+
+# Opt out of built-in kotlin and new DSL behavior that ships with AGP 9.
+# Starting from AGP 10.x these opt outs will be removed.
+android.builtInKotlin=false
+android.newDsl=false
diff --git a/apps/basic-example/android/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties b/apps/basic-example/android/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties
index 37f78a6af8..c61a118f7d 100644
--- a/apps/basic-example/android/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties
+++ b/apps/basic-example/android/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 distributionBase=GRADLE_USER_HOME
 distributionPath=wrapper/dists
-distributionUrl=https\://services.gradle.org/distributions/gradle-9.3.1-bin.zip
+distributionUrl=https\://services.gradle.org/distributions/gradle-9.4.1-bin.zip
 networkTimeout=10000
 validateDistributionUrl=true
 zipStoreBase=GRADLE_USER_HOME
diff --git a/packages/react-native-gesture-handler/android/build.gradle b/packages/react-native-gesture-handler/android/build.gradle
index 3f5f514cc1..226a0713d8 100644
--- a/packages/react-native-gesture-handler/android/build.gradle
+++ b/packages/react-native-gesture-handler/android/build.gradle
@@ -60,7 +60,22 @@ if (isNewArchitectureEnabled()) {
 }
 
 apply plugin: 'com.android.library'
-apply plugin: 'kotlin-android'
+
+def shouldEnableAgpFallback() {
+    def agpMajorVersion = com.android.Version.ANDROID_GRADLE_PLUGIN_VERSION.tokenize('.')[0].toInteger()
+    if (agpMajorVersion <= 8) {
+        return true
+    }
+
+    def propertyVal = providers.gradleProperty("android.builtInKotlin").orNull
+    def isBuiltInKotlinEnabled = propertyVal != null ? propertyVal.toBoolean() : true
+
+    return !isBuiltInKotlinEnabled
+}
+
+if (shouldEnableAgpFallback()) {
+    apply plugin: 'kotlin-android'
+}
 
 if (project == rootProject) {
     apply from: "spotless.gradle"
@@ -183,17 +198,17 @@ android {
     }
 
     sourceSets.main {
-        java {
+        kotlin {
             if (shouldUseCommonInterfaceFromReanimated()) {
-                srcDirs += 'reanimated/src/main/java'
+                directories.add('reanimated/src/main/java')
             } else {
-                srcDirs += 'noreanimated/src/main/java'
+                directories.add('noreanimated/src/main/java')
             }
 
             if (shouldUseCommonInterfaceFromRNSVG()) {
-                srcDirs += 'svg/src/main/java'
+                directories.add('svg/src/main/java')
             } else {
-                srcDirs += 'nosvg/src/main/java'
+                directories.add('nosvg/src/main/java')
             }
         }
     }
diff --git a/packages/react-native-gesture-handler/android/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties b/packages/react-native-gesture-handler/android/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties
index 260504c0cb..221c4f9822 100644
--- a/packages/react-native-gesture-handler/android/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties
+++ b/packages/react-native-gesture-handler/android/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 distributionBase=GRADLE_USER_HOME
 distributionPath=wrapper/dists
-distributionUrl=https\://services.gradle.org/distributions/gradle-8.14.1-bin.zip
+distributionUrl=https\://services.gradle.org/distributions/gradle-9.4.1-bin.zip
 zipStoreBase=GRADLE_USER_HOME
 zipStorePath=wrapper/dists