Last year, Zootopia 2 became the biggest Hollywood animated film of all time, landing $1.87 billion at the worldwide box office; now, a third movie is on the way.
The announcement was made during Disney‘s D23 fan event on Friday by Disney Animation head Jared Bush, with Ginnifer Goodwin and Ke Huy Quan also on hand. “The bunny and the snake will be back!” Goodwin declared, as Bush confirmed this iteration will see the return of its fan-favorite characters and feature the introduction of a bird-centered storyline.
The hit franchise follows optimistic young rabbit Judy Hopps (Goodwin) and sly red fox Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) as they partner together as rookie cops, solving crimes in the animal metropolis of Zootopia. The original 2016 film grossed over $1 billion worldwide, and nine years later, the sequel proved to be an even bigger smash.
Even before Zootopia 2 went on to break records, the team was already looking ahead, with Goodwin telling The Hollywood Reporter at the November 2025 premiere, “I’m putting everything out there trying to manifest a number three, after a much shorter break. All we’ve got to do is get everyone in the world to go see the movie, it’s not a lot to ask.”
Directors Jared Bush (who serves as chief creative officer of Walt Disney Animation) and Byron Howard also had their eyes on doing more with the franchise. Bush said at the time, “If it goes well, we would spend the rest of our careers in the world of Zootopia. It’s the most fun place in the world and there’s so much left to explore. We’ve actually only seen one city on one continent on one planet. There’s quite a lot more stories to tell.”
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