Why A Nick & Judy Romance In Zootopia 2 Is A Bad Idea  (2024)

The announcement that Zootopia 2 is in development at Disney has Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde shippers wondering if a romance between the two will finally become a canon reality, but this would be a bad idea. With an estimated release sometime in 2025, the sequel is expected to finally continue the story of Zootopia nearly a decade after its 2016 release. The original movie centralized a powerful social commentary on racism and general prejudice—but a relationship between the two protagonists would only take Zootopia's themes a step backward.

During Judy and Nick's investigation in Zootopia, they uncovered a criminal conspiracy to turn the city of Zootopia against its traditionally predatorial citizens. This became a clear metaphor for the prejudice often seen in the real world, and Zootopia's lessons on inadvertent biases established the movie as another of Disney's most impactful. Still, even with these layered social commentaries, it was hard to ignore the chemistry between Officer Hopps and ex-con Nick Wilde—leading many to wonder (and hope) they would become a romantic couple in a potential sequel.

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Zootopia Director Has Discussed A Possible Nick & Judy Romance

Nick and Judy's relationship in Zootopia was an unlikely one, especially given Judy's inadvertent bias against foxes. However, as they worked on their investigation together (and Judy worked on herself), it became clear they had a connection. As of the film's end, this only went as far as friendship—and partners, of course—but audiences couldn't help but see more. Despite being members of different species (no other inter-species relationships were seen in Zootopia), their chemistry was palpable.

It's far more than a select few who hope to see Judy and Nick in a romantic relationship in the story of Zootopia 2. Directors Byron Howard and Rich Moore have revealed (via EW) that their most received question is what the nature of the two unlikely protagonists' relationship is—and they didn't yet have an answer. "Somebody's going to be disappointed." said Moore, "It will either be romantic, or it will stay a friendship," he said, explaining that either could still be a viable option. This is good news for shippers, but given the crucial themes of Zootopia, romance may be a problem.

Nick & Judy Could Be A Problematic Representation Of Non-Traditional Relationships

If Nick and Judy were to become a couple in Zootopia 2, it would likely aim to demonstrate the difficulties that often arise from non-traditional relationships. Since the first film explored the impacts of fear and racism on society, Zootopia's Nick and Judy could be equated to a real-world interracial couple. This is, of course, another important topic to discuss, and it's the kind of diversity that is important for children to understand and accept as the norm. However, representing these concepts with an inter-species relationship could be highly problematic.

Disney has already faced criticism for its tendency to represent its BIPOC characters as animals or to make them turn into animals at some point in the plot. This is seen in Turning Red, The Princess and the Frog, and even Emperor's New Groove. Additionally, the studio has been known to shy away from LGBTQ+ representation by placing couples into sci-fi settings like Strange World or Lightyear or dehumanizing gay characters like the cyclops in Onward. Therefore, equating a non-traditional relationship to an interspecies one would only add to the issue.

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An all-animal civilization is nothing new to Disney. What made Zootopia special was the parallels it created with extraordinarily relevant and uncomfortable real-world topics. Characters like Judy and her parents weren't evil. Yet, they had to stop and reflect on how their inadvertent biases hurt the people and the world around them. To make it even better, it did this in a way that young audiences could understand—with the goal that as they grow up watching these fun and adorable characters, they would learn (along with their parents) always to be a better version of themselves.

Zootopia 2 promises to continue this and bring with it new important lessons that child and adult audiences can benefit from. However, it must be sure not to get in its own way. The relationship between Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde is a beautiful representation of biases and prejudices conquered, and making it romantic could potentially damage this image. There are an infinite number of social issues that Zootopia 2 could explore—and it can do so while leaving their romance out of it.

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