DreamWorks has a few great animated franchises under its belt and, although Shrek will always have our heart, Kung Fu Panda comes a fairly close second. It’s been seven years since we last saw the Dragon Warrior on the big screen, which means we’ve been waiting a long time for the Kung Fu Panda 4 release date. We need Po back, and we need him soon!
Fortunately, the Kung Fu Panda franchise will shortly awaken from its unfortunate slumber. DreamWorks is following up its best animated movies with a new adventure for the underdog (underpanda?) hero, and we’ll presumably be adding another animal adversary to our list of the best movie villains. Let’s visit Master Shifu and get all of the intel on the movie event of 2024, at least for fans of martial arts and large mammals.
What is the Kung Fu Panda 4 release date?
Kung Fu Panda 4 is coming to cinemas on Friday March 8, 2024. The wait will soon be over, panda lovers!
DreamWorks announced the release date on Twitter in August 2022, confirming that the movie was not only in the works but already had a release date. Fans of Jack Black’s genuinely formidable arsenal of silly voices rejoiced immediately!
According to Exibidor in October 2023, Universal announced at Latin America trade show Expocine that it is still planning to release the film in March. It seems as if the strikes haven’t slowed the momentum of this particular panda, which means voice work must have begun before the 2023 Actors Strike. The actors are also back at work now, so it’s full steam ahead.
Who’s in the Kung Fu Panda 4 cast?
Jack Black will definitely be returning to lead the Kung Fu Panda 4 cast as Po, the panda Dragon Warrior.
While Oogway may have passed his torch to Po for good in Kung Fu Panda 3, it would be a shame if he didn’t return, at least in the form of flashbacks. With that in mind, we are hoping that Randall Duk Kim will return to the role.
It was also revealed that Mike Mitchell, whose previous work includes some of the best kids movies, Sky High and The Lego Movie 2, as well as the not-so-brilliant Shrek Forever After, will direct.
Here is the expected Kung Fu Panda 4 cast list:
- Jack Black as Po
- Awkwafina as Zhen
- Dustin Hoffman as Master Shifu
- Angelina Jolie as Tigress
- Seth Rogen as Mantis
- Jackie Chan as Monkey
- Lucy Lui as Viper
- David Cross as Crane
- Randall Duk Kim as Oogway
- Ian McShane as Tai Lung
- Gary Oldman as Lord Shen
- Viola Davis as The Chameleon
- Ke Huy Quan as TBC
What is Kung Fu Panda 4 about?
Kung Fu Panda 4 will see Po continue to embrace his life as a teacher by training an apprentice called Zhen, while facing off against a powerful chameleon bad guy.
The Kung Fu Panda 4 plot was revealed by Black himself at CinemaCon, and new fox apprentice Zhen will be a key new addition. Zhen, although talented, doesn’t like the idea of Po being their teacher. It has been heavily rumored that Zhen will be voiced by Awkwafina.
We also know the name of the villain: The Chameleon. They will supposedly have the ability to summon villains from Po’s past. Does that mean we’ll see Tai Lung, Shen, and General Kai again? We certainly hope so. The best movies in this series (the second one in particular) have strong villains, with DreamWorks really pushing the limits as to how dark an animated baddie can get.
We are also hoping to see more of Po’s family again. In Kung Fu Panda 3, fans saw the Panda Village and Po reconnecting with his birth father. It is here where he took his first steps in teaching, so we are guessing that we’ll see how his work progressed there before focusing on his new apprentice, Zhen.
Is there a Kung Fu Panda 4 trailer?
The first trailer for Kung Fu Panda 4 dropped on December 13, 2023, and gave us our first real look at the return of Po and his new friends.
In the trailer, Po is shocked to find out that he’s no long the Dragon Warrior, though he tries to take his job at finding his inner peace seriously. (Well, as seriously as his appetite will let him.)
Of course, things aren’t set to be easy. You can watch the trailer for yourself below to get a proper look at the oncoming action!
Where can I watch Kung-Fu Panda 4?
When it’s released, you’ll have to head to the theater to watch Kung-Fu Panda 4.
After that, it’ll probably head to Netflix, as that’s where a lot of Dreamworks’ animated movies end up. We’ll keep you posted as more developments head our way!
For more of the best new movies coming to the animated arena, check out our guides to the Shrek 5 release date and the Inside Out 2 release date. You can also check out our Super Mario movie review and find out about a shocking Shrek fan theory that might be true.