With Zootopia 2 opening to an absolutely gargantuan opening weekend box office total, on the global stage, fans of the popular Disney Animation franchise are already thinking about what comes next.
The 64th feature-length animated film from Walt Disney Animation Studios is destined to eclipse the billion-dollar box office mark thanks to a record-breaking opening weekend.
Thankfully, a Marvel-style end credits teaser provides a pretty solid clue for what will happen next.
--SPOILERS FOLLOW--
Up to this point in the Zootopia films, the spotlight has mostly been on the tug-of-war between different groups of mammals, with the first film focusing on the predator–prey divide, and then the uneasy tension surrounding the cold-blooded newcomers in the sequel.
Now that reptiles have officially been welcomed back inside Zootopia’s borders, the world seems poised to widen again.
The final moments of the sequel make that clear: a single oversized feather drifts down from above, hinting that another kind of animal may be ready to step back into the picture.
Until that brief tease in the credits, birds had never appeared as part of Zootopia’s society.
The feather suggests that it might be about to change...
Speaking to ScreenRant, Jared Bush teased what that scene means for the future of the franchise, stating, "Well, I think that there are limitless numbers of stories to tell in the world of Zootopia. I think that this is something that, hopefully, when audiences see it, will get them excited about what that could be, what that actually means, and what mystery may lie ahead. I think it's something that we'd love to explore.”
Producer Yvett Merino then coyly added, "Zootopia was always created as an area on a continent in a world."
Besides birds, other species that have yet to show up in Zootopia include bugs/insects, fish, and domesticated dogs and cats. If the franchise wants to introduce a new animal species with each new installment, there's enough material to create a Zootopia qauadrilogy or pentalogy.
"The wildest mystery in Zootopia hisssstory."
"In Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Zootopia 2,” detectives Judy Hopps (voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin) and Nick Wilde (voiced by Jason Bateman) find themselves on the twisting trail of a mysterious reptile who arrives in Zootopia and turns the animal metropolis upside down. To crack the case, Judy and Nick must go undercover to unexpected new parts of town, where their growing partnership is tested like never before."