“Fire whoever made this”: ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Becomes Parody Material as Ke Huy Quan’s Zootopia 2 Sends Fans Screaming for Wolverine’s Rights

Directed by Jared Bush and Josie Trinidad, Zootopia 2 is a sequel to the 2016 animated buddy cop action-comedy Zootopia, starring Ginnifer Goodwin and Jason Bateman. Marvel actor Ke Huy Quan joins the second installment, which was announced at the Disney Entertainment Showcase at D23.

Zootopia is regarded as one of the best movies of 2016, and upon its release, it was praised for its animation, voice acting, subject matter, and screenplay. The animated movie earned the Best Animated Feature award at the 89th Academy Awards. A recent poster of the movie showed a connection to Marvel’s Deadpool & Wolverine, and it did not please the fans.

Deadpool & Wolverine fans question the authenticity of Wolverine in Ke Huy Quan starrer Zootopia 2’s poster

It is not surprising to know that ardent comic book fans are very protective and defensive about the characters they have read or watched on-screen. Fans do not appreciate their favorite characters being used as a parody to gain attention or attract the audience.

One such incident can be seen when Deadpool Updates shared a poster of the upcoming animated action-comedy movie Zootopia 2, which was a parody of the recently released Deadpool & Wolverine.

The users were quick to share their views on the parody poster of the upcoming comedy movie, as one user wrote, ‘Fire whoever made this’. Another user who was not amused with the poster mentioned, ‘They are aware that a Wolverine is like an actual animal, right?’ With a lot of users asking, ‘Why would they not make Wolverine..a Wolverine?’

Fire whoever made this.

— jamesjitsu (@crawfordjamesk) August 10, 2024

Why didn't they just use a Wolverine for Wolverine

— Mattlander (@MattoChatto) August 10, 2024

why would they not make wolverine…a wolverine

— Sammy Ferber (@SammyFerber) August 10, 2024

So they do have "R" rated movies in that universe.

— Myles Wesley Kent (@MylesWesleyKent) August 10, 2024

ARTIST: "What kind of animal can we use for Wolverine?"
PRODUCER: "I dont know, a wolf might be fitting."

— Gryphon BBQ (@GryphonBBQ) August 10, 2024

A user also noted, ‘I can’t believe they referenced an R-rated movie in a kid’s movie.’ A user mentioned that the parody poster was shown at the D23 and the characters were named ‘Deadmule’ and ‘Wolferine’. At the Expo, a first look at Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps was also shown. Variety reported that the sequel is going to see the brave rabbit cop partnering up with her fox friend to crack a new case, which is described as the ‘the most perilous and intricate’ case of their careers.

According to reports by Variety, 2016’s animated buddy cop movie opened to $75 million at the domestic box office, which was recorded as one of the biggest openings for any Disney’s non-Pixar animated movie. It went on to gross over $1 billion and secured the title of the third highest-grossing animated movie just behind Frozen and Frozen II. However, according to Deadline, it is at the 11th spot right now, with Inside Out 2 leading the chart.

Marvel actor Ke Huy Quan to voice a snake named Gary in Zootopia 2

At the D23 Expo, it was announced that Loki actor Ke Huy Quan will be joining Jason Bateman and Ginnifer Goodwin as a part of the Zootopia world. He’d be voicing the character of a snake named Gary in the movie. Director and writer of the movie Jared Bush shared with Good Morning America at the D23 Expo (via ABC News)

I think the cool thing about Zootopia is it’s this massive world of this whole plane of animals. So the idea that we’d get to go back and explore more was always something that we really wanted to do.

Describing Quan’s Gary, Bush said that the reptile is a very venomous pit viper, adding that the audience is going to see the beloved character Judy being challenged. Actress Goodwin, who was at the Expo, stated that the reptiles have a shady past that could send the crew on a whole new mission. She also mentioned that the animated movie is her happy place, and she is ready for the audience to see the new crazy adventure they went on.

Zootopia+, an anthology miniseries of seven-minute shorts starring the side characters of the movie, was released in 2022. Animators Trent Corey and Josie Trinidad served as the directors and writers of the mini-series. It can be streamed on Disney+.

Zootopia 2 is scheduled for release in November 2025.