Fans who left Zootopia 2 wondering about that mysterious feather drifting onto Judy Hopps’ windowsill finally have their answer: it wasn’t just a cute post-credits wink. It was a promise. Zootopia 3 is officially in early development, and birds are flying straight into the heart of the franchise.

The news broke at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event in August, during the Disney Entertainment Showcase, where Walt Disney Animation Studios’ chief creative officer Jared Bush delivered the announcement to a packed Honda Center. He wasn’t alone — stars Ginnifer Goodwin (the voice of Judy Hopps) and Ke Huy Quan (who plays the lovable pit viper Gary) joined the celebration, along with the creative minds steering the franchise into its next chapter.

A feather, a promise and a room full of emotion

For Goodwin, the moment landed somewhere between joy and disbelief. She described watching her own children’s faces light up in the front row, saying their excitement pushed her own emotions to the surface — so much so that she had to remind herself not to cry on stage. Her takeaway was simple: she still can’t believe she gets to keep telling this story.

That story is about to take flight — literally. Bush, who co-wrote the original Zootopia and both wrote and directed Zootopia 2, confirmed that bringing birds into the world has been on the team’s mind for years. The feather at the end of Zootopia 2 wasn’t a throwaway detail — it’s the thread that unravels into the next movie, one that Bush promises will reveal what it means for Nick, for Judy, and for the city itself. Longtime favorites are sticking around, but the team is pushing hard to introduce fresh faces and new corners of the metropolis.

The cast Is already cooking up ideas

Goodwin admitted she suspected — like a lot of sharp-eyed fans — that birds were coming next, and she hasn’t been shy about sharing her thoughts with the creative team, texting over ideas inspired by her own real-life relationship with birds.

Quan, meanwhile, is playing it cool about what’s ahead for Gary, saying he’s just as in the dark as everyone else but is eager to get back in the recording booth. He did offer one hope for his character: even though birds and snakes are natural rivals in real life, he’d love for Gary’s easygoing charm to win the birds over once they see past the “scary predator” exterior.

Why ‘Zootopia’ keeps growing

Producer Yvett Merino said the appeal of returning to Zootopia lies in how the city keeps mirroring our own world back at us — new species, new neighborhoods, new social dynamics, but always grounded in something real.

Clark Spencer, president of Disney Animation, echoed that sense of boundless possibility, noting that with reptiles introduced in the last film and birds arriving in the next, the world keeps expanding in a way that keeps it feeling fresh — while Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps, voiced by Jason Bateman and Goodwin, remain the emotional core holding it all together.

Director Byron Howard, who helmed the first two films, framed the sequel as a continued exploration of the predator-versus-prey tension that’s defined the series from the start. He also touched on the eternal fan debate over Nick and Judy’s relationship — friends or something more — saying he loves that the ambiguity keeps people invested, and that the team plans to keep leaning into it as the world (and its cast of animals) keeps growing.

When can we expect it?

No release date yet — Disney says timing for Zootopia 3 will be announced later. But between the feather, the birds, and a creative team clearly having the time of their lives, one thing’s certain: the next chapter in Zootopia is already taking shape, wings and all.