With Zootopia 2 introducing reptiles to the franchise for the very first time, co-director Jared Bush has explained the significance of their debut. In a recent interview, the chief creative officer of Disney’s animation wing explained the importance that reptiles have to the creative flow of the film.

Jared Bush says Zootopia 2 features reptiles as they are ‘very different than mammals’

While speaking with GamesRadar+Bush noted that he and his Zootopia co-director decided to give reptiles a pivotal role in the sequel in an attempt to expand the world of the films as well as highlight the differences between contrasting species.

Connecting the debut of reptiles in Zootopia 2 to the dynamic between franchise leads Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) and Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin), Bush explained, “We wanted to pair the story of their differences with our larger mystery. And so the idea that we’d bring in reptiles – very different than mammals – really made sense for us, and we wanted to do it with, frankly, a reptile that would make people the most nervous, so we could flip that trope. And you meet Gary, and he’s the sweetest character in the world.”

He then explained the absence of reptiles from the first film, stating, “In the first film, we talked a lot about bias and stereotypes, and predator and prey. In a mammal world, those lines are very clear [but] in a reptile world, not so much. So, we couldn’t bring reptiles into the first story, but my directing partner, Byron Howard, and I always thought that reptiles were somewhere. We always talked about Zootropolis as one city on one continent of one planet of animals. So we said, ‘They’re out here somewhere.’”

Premiering in theaters on November 26, Zootopia 2 has already made a splash at the box office, suggesting that it could turn out to be a huge hit for Disney.