Judy and Nick looking surprised and Nibbles looking excited with a red light glowing on them in Zootopia 2
By
Ash Crossan
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Grant Hermanns
Published 28 minutes ago
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While Jason Bateman and Ginnifer Goodwin were excited to return for Zootopia 2, it came with a few surprising secrets. Picking up a week after the events of the first film, Bateman and Goodwin return as Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps as they must work through their personality differences to fix their partnership, all while investigating the appearance of a mysterious snake, the first seen in decades in the city.
Alongside Bateman and Goodwin, the ensemble Zootopia 2 cast includes everyone from returning stars Idris Elba, Jenny Slate, Nate Torrence and Shakira to franchise newcomers Ke Huy Quan, Fortune Feimster, Patrick Warburton and Quinta Brunson, among many others. Again headed up by creative duo Byron Howard and Jared Bush, the sequel is already off to a strong start, garnering nearly the same level of acclaim as its Oscar-winning predecessor and being on track for a massive $270 million opening weekend.
In honor of the sequel's arrival, ScreenRant's Ash Crossan interviewed Jason Bateman and Ginnifer Goodwin to discuss Zootopia 2. When asked about their initial reactions to the script, Goodwin revealed they "never even read the script the first time we took the jobs," explaining that the reality of working on such a franchise comes down to "when they call you and offer you the job," you can ultimately "say yes or no":
Jason Bateman: Yeah, exactly. You'd say, "Well, what's it about?" And it's like, "That's not how it works. Are you in or are you out?"
Ginnifer Goodwin: "That's not been declassified!"
Bateman went on to recall that he "didn't read the script for the first or the second one" prior to signing on for the franchise. Though quick to clarify that it wasn't "because I didn't want to," but more because that's the general process for Disney Animation movies, as things are "always changing by design" in order to be able to fine tune the films:
Jason Bateman: They don't have to reshoot something. If they want to change it, they just erase it or delete it. So, you're very much doing this blindfolded, and it's great because you're in such great hands.
The Zootopia 2 Duo Love Disney's "Story First" Approach To Marketing
ScreenRant: I loved being at the premiere. When everyone came out on stage, I was like, "Who is not in this movie?"
Ginnifer Goodwin: No, I know. Someone asked me today if I could list them all, and I was like, "No. You could ask me which actors were not in it, and that would probably be easier."
ScreenRant: This is pretty full circle for me because when I interviewed you both for the first movie, I was disgustingly nervous. Now, I'm like, "I can do this."
Jason Bateman: Really? Were you just starting then?
ScreenRant: Yeah. It was one of my first things, and I was probably beet red, sweating.
Ginnifer Goodwin: I don't remember that being the case. [Laughs]
ScreenRant: Everyone talks about that.
Jason Bateman: We're both soaking wet right now, too.
ScreenRant: But it also speaks to how these characters mean so much to people. What has that been like for you the last 10 years? I'm sure you're asked about them all the time.
Jason Bateman: The only time I hear about it's from my buddies who are also dads, and they're like, "Man, get out of my living room. My kids will not stop with Zootopia. I just hear your voice all day in my house." And now they're going to get another one, and I feel bad about it!
Ginnifer Goodwin: I think it's weird getting recognized publicly for this just because I did not assume that people would ever associate me in real life with that for some reason. You know what I mean? We're out here doing this whole press tour, but one of the things I've always loved about Disney is that our names aren't on the posters initially. Other than press and publicity, you would actually have to go to the theater to see our names. They're not selling it on us initially, and that's one of the things I've always loved. It's story first, but therefore it has been a surprise to me [that I was recognized] after the first one. I mean, we're also doing far more publicity about it this summer.
ScreenRant: Jason, as a diehard Dodgers fan, you were at the longest baseball game ever. The World Series game.
Jason Bateman: It was tied, and I was at that one, too.
ScreenRant: I don't know if you watched it back or anything, but the announcers and the camera people at one point, after inning 12 or 16, didn't know what to do anymore. They just kept cutting to you and being like, "Jason Bateman!"
Jason Bateman: I heard they hit me a couple of times. It was like, "You're going to just get bored, whatever. We can't just keep showing the pitcher and the batter." Thank God I stayed. Because that would've been really uncomfortable if they just showed an empty seat. "Well, there's a typical LA fan. He is gone."
ScreenRant: You don't leave till Mary Hart leaves. I thought they were going to put you in the bullpen on that game.
Jason Bateman: I would've. Wasn't that good?
ScreenRant: God, it was great. It was a great series, but it was just so funny. I was like, "If I talk to Jason Bateman soon, I have to bring this up." They cut to you like 16 times.
Jason Bateman: You should've seen all the trash at my feet from all the food. I had three meals; three square meals there during that game. It was, like, five hours. I'm still burping it up.
ScreenRant: There's got to be people who were drinking a ton, and they get cut off at inning 7, and they were probably hungover.
Ginnifer Goodwin: That's the first thing I asked. I was like, "I need to know when they stopped selling beer?" Because I think that they should have just provided everyone a free beer for staying.
Jason Bateman: You sing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" in the middle of the seventh inning, and you sing it again in the middle of the 14th inning. That happened in both those games.
Be sure to dive into some of our other Zootopia 2 coverage with:
- Our Zootopia 2 Review
- Bateman, Goodwin & Byron Howard weighing in on WildeHopps shipping
- Our projection for when the movie will premiere on Disney+
- Our guide for parents on Zootopia 2's content
- A guide on Zootopia 2's ending
- A guide on how the sequel's post-credits scene sets up Zootopia 3
Zootopia 2 is now in theaters!
10/10
Zootopia 2
10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed PG Family Comedy Crime Adventure Animation Release Date November 26, 2025 Director Byron Howard, Jared Bush Writers Jared BushCast
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Ginnifer Goodwin
Judy Hopps (voice)
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Jason Bateman
Nick Wilde (voice)
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