Jack Black Is Returning To His Best Franchise
Jack Black has been steadily working his way to the top of the movie charts again, especially now that it has been announced he is returning to his best franchise.
Jack Black has been in some fantastic films and shows, but it has been announced that he is finally returning to his best franchise. That franchise is Kung Fu Panda. Black had already been pegged to return to the franchise by way of a new series on Netflix called Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight, which aired on the streaming platform in July. The numbers for that series might have been enough to warrant a new film, as DreamWorks Animation announced that Kung Fu Panda 4 would be kicking its way into theaters in 2024. This is huge news considering Po’s journey had stopped in 2016, well, his main journey that is.
The Kung Fu Panda franchise has already made a staggering $ 1.8 billion in worldwide box office numbers throughout the first three movies. DreamWorks Animation and Universal Pictures have clearly seen the value in bringing Jack Black back for one more film. The question now is who will join him for this fourth film? Dustin Hoffman, James Hong, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, David Cross, and Lucy Liu have all been in the first three films together. Hong reprised his role as Mister Ping in the previously mentioned series. However, we understand that most actors get busy schedules, so it will be interesting to see who is brought back.
All three of the Kung Fu Panda films have been favorable to critics and audiences alike, as they have all enjoyed over 70% and 80% approval ratings on Rotten Tomatoes. Kung Fu Panda 3 holds an 86% “certified fresh” rating with a respectable 78% audience rating. Although it will be eight years since the last time we saw Po on the big screen, Kung Fu Panda 4 should follow its predecessors by sharing some of the same success. Again, the announcement of bringing Jack Black back for the franchise could have been related to the popularity of the series that was recently released on Netflix. Although it was only his voice taking on the role of Po, these films truly allowed Black to be at his silliest, which wowed audiences plenty. We are certainly happy that Po is going to tackle another mystical journey as he tries to find himself.
What will be interesting is to see what happens next with Po (Jack Black). Master Oogway had announced that Po would be his successor as Grand Master, and the last we saw of him, he was now in charge of the Jade Palace. Po was teaching everyone at the palace, chi control and kung fu, including his expansive panda family. Someone might come to disrupt that fact, but they would do well without messing with Po and the Furious 5.
Kung Fu Panda put DreamWorks Animation on the map, which was mostly dominated by Disney and Pixar for a great many years. Illumination has also begun to rise in recent years. However, now that Jack Black is returning for a new movie, this could be the time that sees DreamWorks surpass both Disney and Illumination. Kung Fu Panda 4 is set to release on March 8, 2024.
