Shakira is ready to return to the zoo again. The Colombian icon is bringing her voice to ZOOTOPIA 2, returning as Gazelle, the famous Zootopian popstar and predator rights activist. The trailer just dropped today, and it's soundtracked with another original song, "Zoo" by Shakira, and just like the last one, is sure to be a hit.
The trailer teases a new chapter for Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman), rookie cops who are taking on Zootopia’s hidden reptile world. The mysterious pit viper, Gary De’Snake, voiced by Oscar-winner Ke Huy Quan, has a mission to bring his family home and prove that snakes aren't the bad guys they've been made out to be.
They aren't the only big names; the cast list is stacked with even more stars: Andy Samberg, Macaulay Culkin, Brenda Song, Quinta Brunson, Fortune Feimster, Idris Elba, Patrick Warburton, and more.
Shakira's role in the franchise
For Shakira, returning to Zootopia comes at a high point in her career renaissance. After decades of global dominance, she’s shown no signs of slowing down. The Queen of Latin music is still on her Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour until December 11.
As the voice of Gazelle, Zootopia has given Shakira a chance to embody empowerment through animation. She told Good Morning America in 2016 that her Gazelle character is "very opinionated," like her. “And she feels a social responsibility. She feels responsible for her people," she added.
Shakira made some changes to the character, too. “When the directors and the producers showed me Gazelle, I thought she was too skinny. She was too fit,” she explained. “So I told them, ‘Guys, you gotta put some meat on the bones.’”
They added bigger hips to Gazelle, changed her eye color, and gave her some more eyelashes.
"Zoo" is the main soundtrack of Zootopia 2. The track was co-written with Ed Sheeran and Blake Slatkin, who also produced alongside Shakira and Alex (A.C.) Castillo.
Co-writing with Sheeran unites two of the world’s biggest songwriters. The single drops October 10, with an exclusive first listen on SiriusXM’s Disney Hits channel on October 8.
If you remember the first Zootopia back in 2016, Shakira’s “Try Everything” was more than just a soundtrack song; it became a global hit with over 2.7 billion streams to date.
The track captured Gazelle’s empowering spirit and gave the film its breakout musical moment. Now, nearly a decade later, she's gearing up to have the franchise’s next big anthem.
The sequel hits theaters on November 26.