Helmed by Byron Howard and Rich Moore, Zootopia became a big success upon its release in 2016. On a reported budget of $150 million, the film ended up grossing $1 billion at the worldwide box office. A second installment was a no-brainer given its financial return, but as it often hapens with sequels, the project took a long time to materialize. Now, nine years after its predecessor, Zootopia 2 is finally available to watch in theaters.
The sequel, directed by Byron Howard and Jared Bush, brings back Ginnifer Goodwin (Once Upon a Time) as police officer Judy Hopps and Jason Bateman (Arrested Development) as newly appointed officer Nick Wilde. After being partners for a week, they find themselves in a crisis, as their differing methods put them at odds with each other. When a snake named Gary De'Snake (Ke Huy Quan) surfaces in Zootopia looking for help for his people, though, Judy and Nick have to learn to work together better than ever to aid their new friend.
A lot of important names feature in the movie, including Andy Samberg (Pawbert Lynxley), Shakira (Gazelle) and Idris Elba (Chief Bogo). But there's one more important person that many probably didn't expect to hear in the sequel: Bob Iger. As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, the Disney CEO has a cameo in the film, playing a weatherman appropriately named "Bob Tiger." This is Iger's first-ever acting role.
Iger's character was likely a callback to his professional roots. Prior to leading one of the biggest faces in entertainment, the CEO worked as a weatherman in Ithaca, New York. At the New York City Broadcasting & Cable Awards in 2014, Iger discussed his initial involvement in media, revealing it was his time providing weather forecasts that inspired him to switch his career focus:
"I was lucky enough to know what I wanted to do at a very early age—thanks to watching the nightly news every single night with my parents. And I decided I wanted to be Walter Cronkite. I eventually grew out of that—somewhere during my fourth or fifth month as a weatherman in Ithaca, New York. After making it through one winter, I figured I’d had enough experience giving people bad news and shifted my career goals... smartly. But, I never outgrew my fascination for television—which remains such a powerful storytelling medium in the world, even in this era of such vast change."
In 2021, as a special occasion before exiting his role as Disney CEO (prior to his eventual return in 2022), he also gave the weather forecast for KABC Los Angeles.
It's fascinating that, out of all of Disney's monumental blockbusters, it was Zootopia 2 where Iger chose to take on his first credited acting role. Still, the Disney CEO is not be the only cameo in the film. The highly anticipated sequel also features the voices of Dwayne Johnson as Zeke, Josh Gad as Paul Moledebrandt, and John Leguizamo as Antony.
Zootpia 2 is now in theaters.
What do you think about Bob Iger's cameo in Zootopia 2? Did you catch his voice when watching the movie? Tell me in the comments!