Walt Disney Animation Studios is one of the most legendary studios in Hollywood history, boasting an incredible filmography that’s full of historic and modern classics. Even after Disney acquired Pixar, the Mouse House’s in-house animation department had continued to achieve tremendous success, launching new, lucrative franchises. One of Disney’s biggest animated hits of the past decade was Zootopia, which earned widespread critical praise and over $1 billion at the worldwide box office. Last year’s sequel Zootopia 2 replicated its predecessor’s success, becoming the highest-grossing Hollywood movie of 2025. After Zootopia 2 broke box office records, everyone expected a third installment would get the green light, and now Zootopia 3 has been confirmed.
During the Disney Entertainment Showcase at this year’s D23 Expo, Disney officially announced Zootopia 3 is in the works. A release date has not been set yet, but some plot details were revealed during the presentation. Unsurprisingly, Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, and Ke Huy Quan are returning to voice their characters from previous installments. Additionally, as you can see from the movie’s official logo, birds will factor into the narrative.
Zootopia 3 Will Pay Off Zootopia 2‘s Post-Credits Scene
Anyone who stuck around through the credits of Zootopia 2 probably won’t be shocked by where Zootopia 3 is headed. Zootopia 2 concludes with a stinger depicting a feather landing on Judy Hopps’ windowsill, teasing that birds would be making their franchise debut in a future sequel. Based on that, it was probably always the plan to bring birds into the fold for Zootopia 3, which conceivably could be the conclusion of a trilogy (although, considering how successful these films have been, Disney may not want to stop the series at three).
Birds arriving to Zootopia feels like a natural continuation for the franchise. The first film dealt exclusively with mammals, smartly using socio-political commentary to tell a touching narrative that dealt with heavy themes like racial stereotyping and prejudice in a way that still entertained youngsters while teaching them valuable lessons. Zootopia 2 followed suit with its reptile-centric plot revolving around Gary De’Snake proving his family’s innocence and helping his fellow reptiles find a home again in Zootopia. Birds have yet to appear in the series, so they’re due for their time in the spotlight.
It will be interesting to see how Zootopia 3 handles this plot point without retreading ground from the first two movies. The Zootopia films have earned substantial praise for their inventive and mature storytelling, so it would be a shame if the threequel underwhelmed in that department. That said, the filmmakers would not have offered the bird tease at the end of Zootopia 2 unless they were confident they had an engaging story to tell there. There will probably be some thematic similarities to the earlier films (it’s easy to envision a scenario where birds’ arrival sparks a new wave of fear in Zootopia), but it should find a way to put a fresh spin on the concept of different people coming together and making society a better place.
As for a release date, Zootopia 3 is probably still a few years away at least. Animated films take a long time to come together, and odds are Zootopia 3 is in the earlier stages of development. Plus, Walt Disney Animation Studios has a full slate of new releases lined up through 2028. On rare occasions, the studio will release two films in the same calendar year, but for the most part, they stick to one annual release. Frozen 3 is coming out in 2027 and new original film Clay debuts in November 2028. That means Zootopia 3 likely won’t premiere until 2029 at the earliest. Hopefully, an official release date is locked in soon.