The following contains spoilers for Zootopia 2Zootopia 2 lays the groundwork for a third film in its post-credits scene. Zootopia 2 focuses on a new case for Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde, pairing them up for an investigation into a snake moving through the city. In the process, they expose a conspiracy that goes back to the earliest days of the city.
For the most part, Zootopia 2 is self-contained. However, there are two major sequel setups. One of them occurs during the film itself, but the more pressing question for a sequel occurs during the film’s post-credit scene. If there is a sequel, the post-credits tease suggests an entire other class of animals may come into play.
A Feather In Zootopia 2’s Post-Credits Scene Hints At The Direction Of Zootopia 3
Zootopia 2’s post-credits scene teases the appearance of birds in the animal-heavy setting, suggesting that a prospective sequel would be focused on how avian species factor into the universe.
Zootopia 2’s post-credits scene focuses on Judy Hopps at her home, reflecting on her success and teasing her nosy neighbors. As she walks away though, a feather lands on her open windowsill. This is a clear tease that, following Zootopia 2’s introduction of reptiles, Zootopia 3 would shift to birds.
Similar to reptiles and amphibians, there have been no birds seen in Zootopia. The first film only features mammals, while the sequel confirms that reptiles used to be a part of the community but were driven out or into hiding a century prior to the modern day. This suggests there may be a reason why birds have been isolated too.
Given that only a feather has been seen, it’s hard to tell from Zootopia 2’s post-credits scene if birds are as isolated a community as reptiles or if they are merely removed from what audiences have seen so far. There may even be neighboring cities, similar to Zootopia, that are designed specifically for birds to live in.
The broad tease of birds in the world of Zootopia 2 could go in plenty of directions, especially in light of Zootopia 2 ending with reptiles formally being reaccepted into the city. The birds could see this as a problem, explaining why they’re deciding to make their presence known across the city.
It’s also possible that, following two successful cases where she helped expose major conspiracies, Judy is being scoped out by birds. This could be before they attempt to recruit her for their own plans, or potentially to keep an eye on her so she doesn’t interfere with their intentions.
Either option highlights why a bird seems to be flying over Judy’s home. No other feathers have been seen in the film, and the odds of it being a merely coincidental feather drop seem too extreme. It seems more likely that if birds are going to factor into Zootopia 3, then at least some of them are focused on Judy.
Nick Accidently Unleashed A Lot Of Criminals Into Zootopia
The investigation into the conspiracy at the heart of Zootopia leads to an unexpected boon for the criminal element of the city. After being detained by the Zootopia PD, Nick and Nibbles are able to break out. However, in the process, Nick accidentally opens every cell and lets hundreds of criminals loose.
While this initially seems bad for Nick and Nibbles, the criminals quickly take advantage of the situation and all escape. The end of the film brings this point up, with Judy noting that she and Nick will have plenty of work to do to catch all the convicts and bring them back to justice.
The gag at the end of the film confirms that their first target is Bellweather, the villain from the first film, whom they quickly recapture. However, this leaves plenty of other criminals left in the wind for the pair to try and catch. It’s a goofy and quietly perfect means of setting up new storylines.
This could be used as the impetus for plenty of quick gags in a prospective third Zootopia film. It could even be used as a framing device for shorts released through Disney+ or as the basis for an entire Zootopia show focused on the duo’s efforts to catch all the animals who escaped captivity.
