It has been revealed that Hideo Kojima, the legendary game creator, has joined the cast of Zootopia 2 to provide a Japanese dub for Paul Moldebrandt, a mole who works in the Zootopia Police Department. His cameo appearance reportedly comes after he was directly approached by Jared Bush, the film’s director, to request his voiceover talents.
Zootopia 2 is set to hit screens in just a few days, launching on Friday, December 5.
An Unexpected Cameo
In a statement recorded by Famitsu, Hideo Kojima expressed his delight at being invited to voice a character in Zootopia 2:
I have plenty of experience with cameo appearances in live-action films and games, but this will be my first time dubbing an animated feature film. And it’s from Disney, to my surprise!
And since it came directly from director Jared Bush, I was incredibly honored and accepted without hesitation
My participation was limited to a small scene, but even at the recording stage, the level of detail was impressive. Thanks to the illustrations, the recording went smoothly. I’m usually on the directing side, so I learned a lot from actually acting. I was reminded of how much attention voice actors pay to basic things like turning pages in the script and adding noise.
As Kojima said, this isn’t his first time acting. He has appeared in a few small roles over the years, most notably in Cyberpunk 2077 and Control. He also assumed roles in Metal Gear Solid games and has made cameos in Death Stranding.
The report from Famitsu suggests that Kojima was a huge fan of the first Zootopia movie, released in 2016, and when he saw it, he was left wondering how they could ‘surpass’ it with a sequel.
Do you plan to watch the Japanese version of Zootopia 2 just to catch Kojima’s cameo? Let us know on the Insider Gaming Discord server.
For more Insider Gaming coverage, check out the news that someone has finally escaped from Tarkov
Grant has been gaming for 30+ years and in the industry for 10+. You'll probably find him playing a post-apocalyptic game or an extraction shooter somewhere.
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