With Disney's Zootopia 2 tearing up box offices the world over, Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde mania is reaching fever pitch. The online chemistry between the animated movie's beloved rabbit and fox protagonists has fans clamouring for them to become an official item.
Artwork by a Disney storyboard artist is now fueling speculation about whether Zootopia 3 will finally convert 'WildeHopps' into an unlikely animated power couple (see our guides to the best drawing tablets and the best digital art software if you want to make it happen in fan art in the meantime).
Following the trend we've seen with real-life celebrity couples like Bennifer and Brangelina, fans have dubbed the currently non-existent but widely promoted relationship between rabbit cop Judy Hopps and sly fox conman Nick Wilde as 'WildeHopps'. They might now be the biggest celebrity couple rumour since Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.
Disney's played a role in fueling that, with some fans accusing the animation giant of using “shippers bait” to appeal to those who are rooting for romance to blossom. The internet is full of fan art depicting the characters as a couple, but things really went into overdrive when Disney's own storyboard artist Gervais Merryweather shared the post above, in which the second image shows the characters very much united.
Some fans have decided that the image was from an actual Zootopia 2 storyboard and that Disney execs for some reason blocked writers' proposal of a fox and rabbit romance.
“This further confirms to me that the filmmakers REALLY wanted Judy and Nick to be together officially, but Disney wouldn’t let them have it,” one person writes in the comments. “Put this back in the movie,” someone else succinctly demands.
But is the post not just more shipping bait? Gervais has not claimed that the image is from a storyboard, and it seems unlikely (also see Disney's features on how Zootopia 2 was made).
Still, the adorable sketch is making some fans hopeful that a WildeHopps romance could finally become canon in Zootopia 3. While Disney hasn't officially confirmed that a third movie is come, it seems almost inevitable given how well Zootopia 2 is doing at the box office, and it's strongly hinted at in a cryptic password that appears in the current movie as well as in the post-credits tease.
But some still aren't convinced that WildeHopps will ever happen, or that they want it to. “I still find it impossible for them to become a couple, the friend/coworker dynamic is getting stronger,” one person writes. “Am I the only one who doesn’t want this as canon? Seriously, I just can’t see it,” someone else says.
One thing WildeHopps mania proves is the success of the character design for Zootopia 2 (which also has fans going wild for real-world venomous snakes).
Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde are both well-realised characters, and they have a classic opposites-attract dynamic that naturally leads fans to see the potential for an “enemies-to-lovers” relationship that would challenge societal norms in the animal city. Do you think it will ever happen?
For inspiration for your own work, see our character design tips and the full roll call of Concept Art Awards 2025 winners.
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