Perifel expressed interest on developing a sequel to The Bad Guys in March 2022, before the release of the first film. Two years later, DreamWorks Animation announced a sequel, with Perifel and the voice cast returning, while Sans served as co-director. Lyonne joined the cast in July 2024, with the involvement of Brooks and Bakalova being announced in November. Daniel Pemberton composed the score, returning from the previous film.
The Bad Guys 2 was released in the United States on August 1, 2025, by Universal Pictures. The film has received positive reviews from critics and grossed $179 million worldwide.
Plot
Following the defeat of Professor Marmalade[a] and their recent release from prison, the Bad Guys have since reformed but struggle to fit into society. Wolf, Shark, Piranha, and Tarantula unsuccessfully apply for jobs while Snake is frequently away from home. Wolf spends his time with Diane and they grow closer, but they cannot start a relationship due to him being an ex-criminal and her being governor. Inspired by Diane to give people a reason to accept them, Wolf helps Commissioner Luggins track down the Phantom Bandit, a new criminal known for being untraceable. They soon find evidence leading to the bandit being Snake, only to later realize he was with his new girlfriend, Susan. In an attempt to expose the Phantom Bandit at a lucha libre wrestling tournament, the Bad Guys are framed by a pig for the Phantom Bandit's work. Wolf calls Diane to maintain their innocence and she agrees to help them.
The Bad Guys are later kidnapped by a trio of female criminals: Kitty Kat, Pigtail Petrova, and Doom. Kitty was the Phantom Bandit, Pigtail was the pig who framed the Bad Guys, and Doom used the name "Susan" as an alias and was using Snake to lure the Bad Guys. Kitty recruits them to help steal the experimental MOON-X rocket, using secret video footage revealing Diane as the Crimson Paw, her former criminal identity, as blackmail, so the Bad Guys reluctantly acquiesce. Meanwhile, Diane visits Marmalade in prison, where he reveals that Kitty plans to use the Multinational Space Station to steal all of the world's gold with MacGuffinite, a rare metal which can magnetically attract gold.
The group begins their plan by successfully stealing the smartwatch of the rocket's owner, Mr. Moon, at his wedding. Kitty gives Wolf the footage on a flash drive as promised, but traps them after the Bad Guys record her confession. Kitty uploads the footage to the internet, which reveals Diane's secret identity globally, and alerts the police of the Bad Guys' location. Diane confronts the girls before they board the rocket, but Kitty reveals that the footage is now live. A devastated Diane is tranquilized by Kitty while distracted, but manages to sneak on board while half-conscious. Luggins arrests the Bad Guys, but admits that she trusts them and helps them board the rocket mid-launch via helicopter.
After learning the Bad Guys snuck onboard, Doom and Pigtail do not want to attack them, but Kitty refuses to give up the plan and overpowers the machine, endangering millions of people while magnetizing a large amount of gold, along with a limo including a newly-acquitted Marmalade. When Wolf reaches her, Kitty breaks the magnet's remote, but Wolf pickpockets the smartwatch, which allows him to maneuver the rocket into the magnet, destroying it and returning the gold. Enraged, Kitty attempts to kill Wolf for ruining her plan, but Diane recovers and defeats her. Wolf and Diane happily reunite and share their first kiss, while the Bad Guys regroup as the space station plummets towards Earth. After crash-landing, Kitty is sent to prison, Doom and Pigtail are sentenced to community service, and Luggins fakes the deaths of the Bad Guys and Diane so they can be employed as secret agents. Meanwhile, Marmalade flies to his home planet in his limo, which transforms into a spaceship.
Voice cast
Sam Rockwell as Mr. Wolf,[4] the leader of the Bad Guys and Diane's boyfriend
Marc Maron as Mr. Snake,[4] a safecracker, Wolf's best friend and the second-in-command of the Bad Guys
Awkwafina as Ms. Tarantula / "Webs",[4] the Bad Guys' hacker and youngest member
On October 6, 2023, the then-unannounced film was revealed to be animated by Sony Pictures Imageworks. Imageworks would operate as a partner studio with DreamWorks utilizing a "mixed production model". Pre-production would be done in-house at DreamWorks along with approximately 50% of the asset build and one hour of production, while Imageworks will handle the other 50% of asset builds and 20 minutes of shot production.[14] All animation was finished by May 7, 2025.[15][bettersourceneeded]
Marketing
The first trailer for the film, set to "Bad Guy" by Billie Eilish, was released on November 21, 2024, and was later attached to the theatrical release of Wicked (2024).[4]
Release
The Bad Guys 2 was released theatrically in the United Kingdom on July 25, 2025, later in the United States on August 1 and lastly in Australia on September 18.[11][16]
Home media
In addition to its theatrical release, and as part of a long-term deal with Netflix for Universal's animated films, the film will stream on Peacock for the first four months of the pay-TV window, before moving to Netflix for the next 10, and returning to Peacock for the remaining four.[17][18][19]
The Bad Guys 2 was released on digital download on August 19, 2025,[20] and the film will be released on DVD, Blu-ray and Ultra HD Blu-ray on October 7, 2025.[21]
Reception
Box office
As of September1,2025[update], The Bad Guys 2 has grossed $75 million in the United States and Canada, and $104 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $179 million.[3][2]
In the United States and Canada, The Bad Guys 2 was released alongside The Naked Gun and was projected to make $20 million during its opening weekend. After making $9.2 million on its first day, including $2.25 million from Thursday previews, the film surpassed expectations and debuted with $22.2 million domestically, and $44.5 million globally, ranking it in second place behind holdover The Fantastic Four: First Steps.[22][23][24] In its second weekend, the film made $10.4 million (a drop of 53%), falling to fourth place.[25]
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 88% of 97 critics' reviews are positive.The website's consensus reads: "The Bad Guys 2's crew of reformed rapscallions are still a ton of fun as their latest adventure raises the stakes while maintaining a playful sense of mischief."[26]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 64 out of 100, based on 23 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[27] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, the same as the first film.[28]
Future
In June 2025, two months before the theatrical release of The Bad Guys 2, directors Perifel and Sans revealed in an interview with Collider that they were planning a third film.[29]
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