Disney’s animated follow-up, Zootopia 2, includes a substantial post-credits scene — one that not only caps the film’s emotional arc but also winks back at the original Zootopia while hinting at where a third installment might head. Although Disney has not officially greenlit a sequel, early box-office momentum and the studio’s well-known appetite for franchises make another entry likely. Co-directors Jared Bush (who also serves as Disney’s chief creative officer) and Byron Howard tell Polygon they view the Zootopia setting as fertile ground for more stories.
“It is endless, I think, because it is built around the fact that [just watching] the normal functioning of the world is entertainment itself,” Howard says.
Ed. note: Spoilers ahead for the post-credits scene in Zootopia 2, and for the filmmakers’ thoughts about possible directions for the franchise.
In this sequel, mismatched partners Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) tackle a new investigation while navigating tensions in their professional relationship. The plot centers on Gary De’Snake — voiced by Ke Huy Quan — a viper who slips into Zootopia to recover a stolen journal and to argue that reptiles were wrongfully barred from the city after a snake was falsely accused of murder.
The case surfaces deep-seated strain between Judy’s high-strung, perfectionist tendencies and Nick’s more measured skepticism. At one crucial moment, their argument destroys the carrot-shaped pen/recorder that once symbolized their partnership. That pen — which Judy gave Nick in the first film “to symbolize our partnership,” — is repaired and returned by the film’s end as a sign that the two have reconciled.
The post-credits beat finds Judy at home, the repaired-but-broken carrot pen resting on her windowsill — a quiet reminder that she and Nick have mended their bond. She shares a bright, neighborly exchange through her thin apartment wall with the loud gazelles who live next door — the same noisy neighbors from the original Zootopia. Where Judy once retreated into a cramped, lonely room, the same space now feels supportive, underscoring how much her life has changed.
As Judy turns away, a single feather floats down and lands on the windowsill. Its origin is left ambiguous, but the implication matters: Zootopia has no known bird residents, and that stray feather suggests a feathered presence beyond the city’s borders. Just as Zootopia 2 addresses why reptiles were excluded, this small detail teases the possibility that the franchise’s next chapter could tackle the absence of birds — perhaps introducing a bird character seeking help from Judy or arriving as an antagonist.
“Honestly, I think our job is to have people walk out of a theater [and] go, like, ‘That was great! Man, I want more of that!’” Bush told Polygon. “I think that’s the goal. And I think with this movie, we really tried hard to say, ‘This is how you can expand [the Zootopia world]’ that allows people to say, ‘And you could expand it even more!’ I think that’s the goal every single time we go into this world.”
“There’s so much room still to play in the world of Zootopia,” says co-head of story Carrie Liao. “I am sure there are other animals I want to see, other environments that exist in our real world that it’s like, ‘Well, will we get to see that in Zootopia?’”
Howard notes that the series’ longevity stems partly from the universal appeal of animal characters and the creative possibilities of an animal metropolis. “We’ve been fascinated with animals ever since we were kids,” he says. “That’s something I think universally, across the world, unifies people…seeing how Zootopia functions, with thousands of animals, different stories, many different ways to go. So yeah, I think it could go on forever.”
Zootopia 2 is in theaters now.
Source: Polygon
