Disney celebrates the New Year with a Zootopia 2 poster featuring the sequel's newest "creepy" cold-blooded character.
The original Zootopia focused primarily on mammals, leaving out reptiles and avians, to the disappointment of fans. However, the sequel has shown that not only will it finally introduce these cold-blooded animals to the world of Zootopia, but it will also feature other new mammals.
Disney producer Brad Simonsen promised that Zootopia 2 would be "as good or better" than the first movie, which seems to be on the road to being fulfilled with what's been shown so far, including a brand-new poster.
New Year Poster for Zootopia 2 Features 'Creepy' Character
Commemorating the New Year and the impending Year of the Snake, Disney released a new Chinese poster for Zootopia 2 featuring Ke Huy Quan's Gary, a blue viper wanted by the law.
Gary was introduced to audiences at D23 for Zootopia 2 by Ginnifer Goodwin, the voice of Judy Hopps. Described as a "creepy, slithery, highly venomous viper," Gary is the one "who sends Judy and Nick off on a whole new mystery" in their mission to track him down.
Gary and the rest of the reptiles have a "shady past in Zootopia," which could suggest further exploration of prejudice as a theme in this sequel, considering how overtly negative Goodwin described him on stage despite Gary's seemingly cheery and innocent demeanor.
Another new poster further supports this with a "Newcomer Inspection Case" for Gary, which describes him as an "extremely optimistic" snake who specializes in "chattering" it up.
However, the case file also reveals that Gary never declared his reason for visiting Zootopia. Is Gary in the mammal metropolis for sinister schemes, or is he just an innocent victim of circumstance and prejudice?
Is Gary a Villain or Victim in the Zootopia Sequel?
It seems a little too obvious for Ke Huy Quan's Gary to be some criminal mastermind, especially after the last movie already had that with Jenny Slate's treacherous Dawn Bellwether. Gary being a victim of prejudice instead would build upon the themes already established from the first movie.
Of course, it could be more complicated than that, with Goodwin describing reptiles as having a "shady past" with the mammalian-based city. But that could easily be history being dictated by the winners since it seems apparent that reptiles, especially "highly venomous viper[s]," aren't looked upon fondly.
From everything that's been shown so far, the last thing anything Gary could be described as is "creepy" with that innocent smile on his face. But appearances can always be deceiving.
Zootopia 2 will slither into theaters on November 26.
