Zootopia 2 – All We Know

Bob Iger announced this week that Disney would produce several sequels to add to its growing plate of content for theatrical releases. Among these are Toy Story 5, Frozen 3, and the highly anticipated Zootopia 2. The Zootopia 2 announcement came close to seven years after the first film was released to audiences, making it one of Disney’s only billion-dollar projects not to have a movie franchise until now.

Disney+ unveiled the anthology animated spin-off Zootopia+ last November, but an official sequel to 2016’s Zootopia had yet to be confirmed to be in development. With Zootopia 2 on the way, Disney fans will finally have a chance to reconnect with familiar characters like Judy Hopps, Nick Wilde, and Chief Bogo.

An all-star cast lent their voices for the original iteration, and families across the globe will be eager to see what other conspiracies might be in store.

Here is all we know about Zootopia 2.

THE ZOOTOPIA 2 CAST WOULD LIKELY RETURN WITH GINNIFER GOODWIN, JASON BATEMAN, IDRIS ELBA, AND OTHERS

During the Q1 earnings call at Disney this week, Bob Iger let it slip that Zootopia 2 is currently in development. However, he did not disclose what voice cast members would return to the sequel, as the project is still in the works. Several fan favorites have made their way to the Disney+ spin-off in the time between Zootopia and Zootopia+ premiering, so it should be assumed that a large part of the ensemble will return for Zootopia 2.

The cast of Zootopia 2 will likely consist of Ginnifer Goodwin as Judy Hopps, Jason Bateman as Nick Wilde, Idris Elba as Chief Bogo, and Jenny Slate reprising her role as Bellwether. Other possible inclusions could be J.K. Simmons as Mayor Lionheart, Octavia Spencer as Mrs. Otterton, Alan Tudyk as Duke, and Bonnie Hunt as Bonnie.

One member of the original cast who will not be returning is actor and former wrestler Tommy Lister Jr., who portrayed the fox character of Finnick. He sadly passed away in 2020.

It will be interesting to see if a new character and type of animal is brought into the mix, which would, in turn, introduce viewers to an actor that has not previously voiced any of the Zootopia characters. Leveraging prior Zootopia cast member Shakira’s fame and association with Jennifer Lopez could bring nostalgia for their infamous Super Bowl Half-Time Show.

Adding Lopez as a different animal in Zootopia 2 would capitalize on the singer and actor’s popularity after the release of the romantic comedy Shotgun Wedding.

THERE ARE NO CONFIRMED PLOT DETAILS FOR ZOOTOPIA 2

At this time, no plot details have been confirmed by Disney as to what Zootopia 2 will be about, so we will have to look to the previous installment to theorize. 2016’s Zootopia was rife with jokes about the animal kingdom, bringing the film critical acclaim and near-universal praise from theater-going audiences. Rotten Tomatoes ranks Zootopia as Certified Fresh with a Tomatometer score of 98 percent and an Audience Score of 92 percent.

While Zootopia dealt heavily with a variety of animals living as a community, the character of rookie police officer Judy Hopps working with Nick Wilde was featured prominently as they solved a conspiratorial case. The unlikely pairing of Judy and Nick will probably continue as they encounter a new case to solve together and come across some new creatures.

ZOOTOPIA 2 CURRENTLY HAS NO CONFIRMED RELEASE DATE

Along with the recently announced sequels to Toy Story and Frozen, Zootopia 2 does not have a release date set at Disney. The 2016 film was a surprise hit at the box office upon its release, grossing over $1 billion against a budget of $150 million.

The movie’s success practically guaranteed that a sequel would one day come to fruition, especially given that Zootopia took home the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film of the Year.

DISNEY’S FUTURE IS FLUCTUATING BY THE DAY

The news that Zootopia 2 is now in development at Disney comes at a time of great transition for the House of Mouse. Earlier this week, Variety reported that Disney will be laying off at least 7,000 of its current employees as it attempts to cut costs to the tune of $5.5 billion.

By tapping existing franchises to spawn more sequels to entertain audiences, Disney hopes to increase its profits to gain back some ground lost prior to Bob Iger returning as CEO of The Walt Disney Company.

More sequels to popular movies could be underway if Bob Iger wants to keep Disney afloat. Iger returned to the company as CEO after a disastrous run by former CEO Bob Chapek, who saw revenue losses increase during his failed tenure. According to Forbes, Iger was reinstated as CEO late last year at the same time streaming platform Disney+ saw a 2.4 million subscriber loss.

Balancing the good headlines with the bad this week, Bob Iger appears to be attempting to salvage the reputation that he worked hard to cultivate for decades while he was in charge of Disney. Iger saw the company through several transformational periods, including the 2006 acquisition of Pixar, purchasing Marvel Entertainment and creating the Marvel Cinematic Universe, buying Lucasfilm and 21st Century Fox, and overseeing the opening of several theme parks around the world.

In the past decade alone, Iger contributed to expanding Disney’s profile by strengthening its relationship with streaming platforms available to home viewers. This has included Hulu and the creation of Disney+ under his watch. According to CNBC, Iger is currently evaluating their 66 percent stake in Hulu and has yet to rule out selling their stake in the streamer, which they share with Comcast.

Outside of projects like Toy Story 5, Frozen 3, and Zootopia 2 coming to theaters in the near future, Disney has been hard at work in shoring up their comic book fanbase by revealing the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase Five and Six. Beginning this month with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Disney hopes to regain some credibility amongst audiences by introducing the next supervillain of the multiverse in Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror.