Kung Fu Panda 4 Plot Details Revealed, Unveils Po's Latest Challenge [CinemaCon 2023]
CinemaCon is currently taking place in Las Vegas, with every studio in Hollywood putting its best foot forward to show theater owners that they've got the goods coming down the pipeline. For Universal Pictures, that meant bringing a first look at "Kung Fu Panda 4," which was first confirmed to officially be happening last year. But the company pulled back the curtain on the animated sequel for the eyes of the industry to see, and we're here to tell you what we've learned.
/Film's Ben Pearson is on hand at the convention and has been delivering all of the details for your benefit, dear reader. In this case, he was there when Jack Black took the stage to share the first information regarding his return as Po, the panda who is proficient in martial arts. Netflix brought Po back with the series "Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight" last year, but this is the character returning to his roots on the big screen. So, what is that going to entail? Let's get into it.
Po is back in his biggest adventure yet
Black took the stage and said it was too early for a trailer, but we did get some information from the actor regarding the plot. In this installment, Po is getting promoted to become the spiritual leader of the Valley of Peace. But there's a catch! To take his new position, he has to replace himself as the Dragon Warrior. He catches a thief, a fox named Shen. Things get interesting when he starts to consider that she could be the next Po, rather than just a thief.
Eventually, they become pals, even though they bicker at the beginning. The pair have to leave the city to meet the Chameleon, a badass sorceress. It turns out the Chameleon can summon any villains from the past, which means big trouble for Po! He now has to defeat every single one of them, so this sounds a bit like a culmination of the series. "It's going to blow your roofs off," Black said.
For Universal and DreamWorks, a return to this series makes every bit of sense. The previous three films earned more than $1.8 billion at the box office in the span of just eight years. Plus, audiences may well be hungry for more since it will have been eight years between installments by the time this one arrives next year, as "Kung Fu Panda 3" hit theaters in 2016. And it very much sounds like this will be a big movie. Will bigger be better? We'll have to see what the first trailer brings when the time comes.
"Kung Fu Panda 4" is currently set to hit theaters on March 8, 2024.