Zootopia 2 is a big deal. It’s officially the highest-grossing Hollywood movie of the year, surpassing even its incredibly successful predecessor at the global box office. Considering that level of success, it seems likely Disney is already contemplating a Zootopia 3, and it sounds like the director is already sitting on a brilliant idea that would theoretically involve Keanu Reeves.
It would be an understatement to say Zootopia 2 is full of cameos. Numerous stars who have appeared in previous animated Disney movies make brief voice appearances in the new film, so it would track that cameos would be a big part of a threequel if it were to happen. One fan on Twitter asked Zootopia 2 co-director and Walt Disney Animation CCO Jared Bush what star he would love to get in a future film. Not only did the filmmaker name-drop Reeves, but he also shared an idea he was pitched. Bush said…
I’m a huge John Wick fan. And my son has begged me to ask Keanu Reeves to play an assassin named ‘The Baba Llama’ – and I can’t imagine a better cameo!
Brilliant. No notes. Make this happen right away. Also, I don’t care what anybody says about nepo babies; Bush should hire his kid to work at Walt Disney Animation Studios, because he has some great ideas.
And the best part is that it wouldn’t even be that difficult to work the Baba Llama into Zootopia 3. We already know that the world of Zootopia has organized crime, so Keanu Reeves’ proposed character could obviously work for Mr. Big, the artic shrew who runs the criminal world of Tundratown. It would be a hilarious cameo, and I need to see what a John Wick-inspired llama would look like.
The majority of the voice cameos in Zootopia 2 were from stars who had voiced characters in Disney movies before, though certainly not all. Even company CEO Bob Iger lent his voice to the film as a TV weatherman, calling back to his original on-screen job before he began his rise to the top of the House of Mouse. Reeves hasn’t lent his voice to a Disney project before, but he did appear in a Pixar movie, and that’s close enough.
While nothing has been officially announced, it seems all but certain that a Zootopia 3 is at least going to be a topic of conversation. Disney is going to want to make a sequel to its franchise that has two billion-dollar hits under its belt. The only question is, can they come up with a compelling story, and how quickly can they rev up the machine?
Zootopia 2 does include a little sequel tease, which indicates at least some consideration that a third movie could happen, even before the current one became the massive success that it is. While waiting for word on a threequel and a potential Keanu Reeves casting, check out the latest Zootopia film in theaters now and stream the OG flick with a Disney+ subscription.