Dreamworks has announced that Kung Fu Panda 4 is in the works for 2024. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Dreamworks plans to release the fourth film in the Kung Fu Panda franchise on March 8, 2024. The franchise has earned $1.8 billion in box-office revenue from the films alone. It has included video games, theme park attractions, and three television series, including the Emmy-winning Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness. It all started with the first film, which was released in 2008. Two sequels followed in 2011 and 2016. All three have been critical and commercial successes, and the first two were nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Oscars (losing to WALL-E and Rango in their respective years).
Kung Fu Panda 4 Continues Dreamworks’ Underdog Story
Variety reports that Kung Fu Panda 4 will focus, to no one’s surprise, on the lovable underdog protagonist Po (Jack Black), an excitable but clumsy panda working in his adopted goose father’s noodle shop. Obsessed with kung fu, Po accidentally stumbles into a tournament where he is identified as the Dragon Warrior, a prophesied kung fu master. While initially mocked, he takes his training seriously, befriends the Furious Five kung fu team, and proves himself a capable hero. Originally intended to be a trilogy, Kung Fu Panda 3 saw Po reunited with his birth parents and taking on the role of a kung fu teacher.
Other than Jack Black, other stars who lent their voices to the franchise included Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, Jackie Chan, David Cross, and James Hong. Other than the 2024 release date, no details for Kung Fu Panda 4 have been shared. Audiences will have to wait for details of the plot and casting, but chances are we will at least hear Jack Black voicing Po again.
Will you watch Kung Fu Panda 4 from Dreamworks in 2024? Share your thoughts in the comments.