What the Zootopia 2 Post-Credits Scene Really Means

Disney went back to the animal city well with Zootopia 2, and yeah, it pretty much runs the first movie back but swaps in reptiles. After Judy and Nick remind everyone that snakes and lizards aren’t born evil (shocker!), we get a feel-good finale that might give you déjà vu. So, does the sequel tease where this thing goes next? Short answer: yes, twice.

• Does Zootopia 2 have a mid-credits scene? Yes.
• Does Zootopia 2 have a post-credits scene? Also yes.

The mid-credits scene: a full-on music video

Right after the first batch of names roll, the movie basically turns into a music video. We get an extended version of the new original track, 'Zoo,' performed by Shakira as Gazelle and written by Shakira and Ed Sheeran. The vibe is clearly shooting for the same catchy, stadium-friendly zone as 'Try Everything' or Shakira’s World Cup banger 'Waka Waka,' but it never finds that gear. It’s loud, it’s repetitive, and it’s more curtain call than story beat.

On-screen, it’s a breezy montage: the cast pops in, dances, and we get a quick visual roll call of who’s who and what they’re up to right after the movie ends. Think end-of-show bows set to a song you’ll probably forget before you hit the parking lot.

The post-credits scene: Judy, a carrot pen, and one not-so-subtle tease

Stick around to the very end and the movie drops back into Judy’s apartment. She’s at the window with her new carrot pen — the one that matters a lot in this sequel. Earlier, she recorded Nick saying one extremely loaded two-word line on it, and she’s looping it with the softest little grin.

'love ya'

Her bliss is immediately wrecked by the loud neighbors from the first film — those kudus — yelling through the wall. They gripe that she’s been replaying that clip all day and take a jab at how much she seems to crave a little attention. Judy fires back with a deadpan threat that her next case could involve a bunny strangling her noisy neighbors, which is enough to send them scrambling and shouting, 'You made her mad!'

Judy walks off, leaves the pen on its little pedestal, and the camera holds. Then a single bird feather floats down and lands next to it. Subtle as an anvil.

What it’s setting up for Zootopia 3

The mid-credits is just fluff. The post-credits is the point: that feather is basically a neon sign that the third movie is lining up birds as the next big species story. First movie: mammals. Second: reptiles. Third: birds. If you’re sensing a pattern, you’re not alone. The safe bet is another round of the city confronting bias, pushing a group out, and then learning (again) that the targets of that bias are, in fact, good. It’s a clean setup, sure — also pretty predictable. Feels like this franchise might be stuck on repeat.

Where the sequel leaves our duo

For what it’s worth, by the end of Zootopia 2, Judy (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Nick (Jason Bateman) have made nice with the ZPD again after helping prove reptiles aren’t the villains of nature. The story lands on another big-tent harmony moment. Familiar? Definitely. But it puts them in position to take whatever the next case is — and that feather makes the next case feel awfully airborne.

Zootopia 2 is now in theaters.