Hardly anyone expected it, yet eight years after the third part of the "Kung Fu Panda" film series, the franchise is getting a fourth film: In 2024, Po will once again take on the role of the dragon warrior. In this video we have summarized for you all that is already known about "Kung Fu Panda 4".

What happened so far

First of all, let's take a brief look back at the back story: In 2008, the first movie around the eponymous hero Po was released. It is about a chubby panda who works in his father's noodle shop and becomes a famous dragon warrior. The movie thrilled adults and children all over the world - not only because of the spectacularly staged martial arts fights, but also because of the endearing story about Po and his friends.

Since then, we have had the pleasure of accompanying Po and the Furious Five on three breathtaking cinematic adventures, and there have also been a number of series. "Kung Fu Panda" is now DreamWorks Animation's biggest franchise; the first three movies alone have brought in more than 1.8 billion US dollars worldwide.

Po's story starts in a small village in China, where he is supposed to take over his foster father's noodle shop. To everyone's surprise, however, he is chosen by Grand Master Oogway as a future dragon warrior. Reluctantly, his instructor Master Shifu begins to train Po, and the Furious Five, the village's famous Kung Fu fighters, are also rather wary. In a prophecy it is said that the dragon warrior will protect the village from an evil calamity. And indeed, in the end, it is up to Po to defeat the evil Tai Lung, who leads a personal vendetta against the village. Throughout the movies, Po has to face new dangers and, in the third part, finally meets his biological father, who comes from the Valley of Peace, where all the other pandas live.

Plot

Of course, many are wondering what will happen next in "Kung Fu Panda 4". Po voice actor Jack Black himself announced the first information about this at CinemaCon 2023 in April. According to him, the main character will become the new spiritual leader in the Valley of Peace. This means for him to find and train a successor for the title of the Dragon Warrior. In the previous movie, we could already see that Po is very interested in a particular panda lady. Will the potential successor even be his own offspring? Balancing career and family would certainly bring some potential for conflict - a fearless dragon warrior and a loving dad don't necessarily go hand in hand. At the same time, the film can initiate a generational change and introduce new, future protectors of their homeland with the children.

The fact that Po has to increasingly focus on his role as a teacher of a pupil fits the series very well: On the one hand, "Kung Fu Panda" has always been about how to meet expectations and how to find one's place in the world. On the other hand, children characters also offer potential for new groups of viewers to relate to, who haven't already grown up with the first three movies. The training of panda kids by Po was also the subject of the 2018 series "Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny".

Black also commented on the villain: Po meets his most insidious opponent ever in "Kung Fu Panda 4": the Chameleon, a badass sorceress who can also summon villains from the past. Po must face each one of them personally.

Cast & Production

"Kung Fu Panda 4" is to be released in theaters as early as March of next year, but this time not by 20th Century Studios, but through Universal Pictures. As in the Netflix series "Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight", Peter Hastings is the producer. The success of this series could be one reason why it was decided to do another movie in the first place. After all, in 2010 - that is, even before the release of "Kung Fu Panda 2" - it was said that a total of 6 films had been planned. After the somewhat moderate success of part 3, however, there was a temporary break for the cinematic adventures.

The panda will once again be dubbed by Jack Black, who is currently thrilling fans with his interpretation of Bowser in "The Super Mario Bros. Movie". We are excited to find out whether the other roles - unlike in the series - will also be filled by the familiar voices.

Since the movie is already set to be released in theaters on March 8, 2024, the faint hope remains that we will soon be able to watch a first teaser. It's best to activate the notification bell for our channel right now, so you don't miss it!