Kung Fu Panda 4 is in development, and a release date has been set. One of the most popular DreamWorks animation franchises, Kung Fu Panda follows Po (Jack Black) a normal panda who eventually becomes the fabled Dragon Warrior, and with the help of his master Shifu and the other kung fu masters, The Furious Five keep their land safe. The film franchise has grossed $1.8 billion at the worldwide box office so far.
The franchise has continued on, with a holiday special and three different television series. The first, Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness was set between the first and second film and aired on Nickelodeon from 2011 to 2014 before moving over to Nicktoons in 2016. The second series, Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny followed the events of the third film and aired on Amazon Prime from 2018 to 2019. Most recently, Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight premiered on Netflix in July 2022. Despite the franchise aggressively expanding on the small screen, the status of Kung Fu Panda 4 has been unknown for years.
After a hiatus away from theaters, Kung Fu Panda is set to return to the big screen as Deadline reports Kung Fu Panda 4 is in development at DreamWorks Animation. The film has been set for release on March 8, 2024. No plot details have been given about the film, and no directors are attached at this point, but it will mark the first time that a Kung Fu Panda film has been distributed by Universal Pictures, as they acquired DreamWorks in 2016.
If Kung Fu Panda 4 makes its release date it will have been eight years since the release of Kung Fu Panda 3. It will also mark 16 years since the release of the original Kung Fu Panda film back in the summer of 2008. DreamWorks Animation and Universal Pictures are likely hoping for generational nostalgia for the original films to help make the film a box office sensation, similar to how Minions: The Rise of Gru performed over the summer.
While still a little less than two years away, 2024 is already filling up. Kung Fu Panda 4 will now open the week after another Universal Picture, Ryan Gosling-led action film The Fall Guy which recently attached Emily Blunt and secured a March 1, 2024 release date. Kung Fu Panda 4 will premiere on the same date as Paramount Picture's A Quiet Place: Day One. Kung Fu Panda 4 will also face competition from Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse when it opens in theaters on March 29, 2024, which could give the sequel some competition. However, with a good three-week head start before the animated Spider-Man movie releases, that should be plenty of time for Po and the rest of his kung fu friends to earn a profit at the box office.
Source: Deadline