Dwayne Johnson Signs On for Disney Sequel That Could Beat Moana 2's Record
One month out, Zootopia 2 unleashes star power as the new international trailer confirms Dwayne Johnson as Zeke, leading a fresh roster of voices in the sequel to Disney’s defining 2010s hit.
We are about a month out from Zootopia 2, and Disney just slipped a pretty big nugget into the new international trailer: Dwayne Johnson is in this thing. He is voicing a character named Zeke. If you had that on your sequel bingo card, congrats.
The new voices (and yes, it is a flex)
Johnson is part of a stacked roster of fresh faces joining Judy and Nick this time around. Alongside him:
- Auli'i Cravalho
- Josh Gad
- Stephanie Beatriz
- Wilmer Valderrama
- John Leguizamo
- Anika Noni Rose
- Rachel House
- David Fane
It is a very Disney Animation crossover kind of lineup. The sequel itself is following one of the studio's biggest 2010s hits, which is notable given how bumpy the last few years have been for Disney on the animation side.
Can Zootopia 2 chase down Moana 2?
This is where it gets fun. Betting that a Disney follow-up will do numbers is not exactly brave. In the last decade-plus, most of their animated continuations have cleared their predecessors; the exceptions the fanbase likes to point to are Cars 3 and Lightyear.
Moana 2, which opened over Thanksgiving last year with Johnson back as Maui, was broadly seen as a step down from the first movie but still blew the doors off financially. Deadline put its five-day opening at $225 million, the biggest take for that holiday frame. It went on to finish with $1.059 billion worldwide.
Right now, Box Office Pro has Zootopia 2 tracking at $140–150 million for its domestic five-day Thanksgiving opening. That is the early read. We are still weeks out, so those projections can shift upward as awareness and marketing ramp up.
Here is the part that makes Disney bean counters smile: when these characters hit, they really hit. Back in 2016, Zootopia outgrossed Moana globally. If that dynamic repeats, there is a plausible path where Zootopia 2 ultimately tops Moana 2's $1.059B worldwide finish.
Why the chatter matters
The short version: word of mouth. Disney animated sequels and spin-offs tend to haul in big opening weekends regardless, but stronger reviews and good buzz give them legs. If audiences like what they see, that Thanksgiving surge can turn into a long, healthy run through the holidays.
Release details
Zootopia 2 opens in theaters on November 26, 2025.
Moana 2 is streaming on Disney+ in the U.S.