Zootopia 3 is being developed with a story that will introduce birds to the animated world and may take Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde beyond Zootopia City, Disney Animation chief creative officer Jared Bush has said.
Bush, who co-wrote the first two films, also warned that the third instalment remains some way off, with its cinema release date yet to be fixed.
“This is something that is going to take a lot of time to get right,” Bush said when discussing the film’s development. “I think with any movie set in the world of Zootopia, Judy and Nick are going to be at the very center of that.”
He confirmed that birds would be introduced, following the tease at the end of Zootopia 2 and in the logo for the third film. Bush said the new setting could represent a significant expansion of the franchise.
“I think people know at this point that we are going to introduce birds into the world of Zootopia, and I think this may be the first time that we travel outside the bounds of Zootopia City itself,” he said.
When will Zootopia 3 be released?
Bush said there was no definite release year for Zootopia 3, explaining that the timing would depend on the progress of the film, Disney Animation’s wider schedule and the circumstances surrounding the studio.
“That could be in a few different years, depending on how that movie is doing, how the movies around it are doing, how our world is doing,” he said.
He added that having a clearer timeframe would help Disney Animation plan its workforce, including artists who may want to join the next Zootopia project.
“So, having a sense of that and being able to communicate that to the entire studio is critical,” Bush said.
He also indicated that the idea of expanding the world with new animal groups had been considered for years. “The honest answer is that on the very first Zootopia, Byron [Howard] and I had a great time, and a year in, we said, ‘We want to stay in this world and tell all kinds of stories,’” Bush said.
Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman and Ke Huy Quan are seemingly set to return as Judy Hopps, Nick Wilde and Gary De’Snake respectively.
