Kung Fu Panda 4 director claims Tai Lung will not be the only villain returning in the sequel. Po (Jack Black) and the Furious Five’s last adventure was in 2016 with Kung Fu Panda 3 when the Dragon Warrior explored his panda heritage and mastered the art of chi. After another sequel was confirmed, the first Kung Fu Panda 4 trailer featured Tai Lung’s (Ian McShane) return with another enemy crossing paths with Po.
As per Collider, Kung Fu Panda 4 director Mike Mitchell says the next sequel will bring back multiple past villains and other older characters. He then listed a few of these old characters and emphasized that “every single character that you remember comes back.” However, he tries to keep it spoiler-free as to which villains are returning. Check out the full quote from Mitchell below:
Loads. And he has to work with this entire band of thieves to fight the villain. By the way, all the old characters are back – Mr Ping, Li, played by Bryan Cranston, Shifu, played by Dustin Hoffman, and then James Hong who plays Ping. Tons of characters. All the characters come back. Every single character that you remember comes back, and a few villains that I don’t want to spoil. But really, we wanted to introduce a whole slew of new characters which we did.
The Kung Fu Panda 4 Cast Explained
The new trailer showed a glimpse of Po’s next task in which he must teach a student to take his former position as the Dragon Warrior, and one of the biggest reveals was the return of Tai Lung. He was the main antagonist of the original 2008 installment, Kung Fu Panda, but was banished to the Spirit Realm at the end of the first movie. As Po becomes the Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace, the powerful panda must face up against a new threat, the Chameleon (Viola Davis), who is in pursuit of consuming unlimited kung fu powers. This is evident when she brings back Tai Lung and absorbs his kung fu energy.
How Tai Lung Is Back From The Dead In Kung Fu Panda 4
Tai Lung returns in Kung Fu Panda 4 years after seemingly dying in the original movie, but there are teases for how he is back from the dead.
The deployment of the Spirit Realm leaves room for any previously defeated villains to return to the upcoming entry. This means the fourth film will have a stellar voice cast, including Bryan Cranston (Li Shan) and Dustin Hoffman (Shifu). Depending on which other villains return, Kung Fu Panda 4 could also bring back characters such as Gary Oldman’s Lord Shen, the main villain from Kung Fu Panda 2, or J.K. Simmons’ Kai, the main villain who wanted to steal the chi in Kung Fu Panda 3. The production has also confirmed that the Furious Five will appear despite their unusual absence in the first trailer.
In addition to the returning cast, Kung Fu Panda 4 has exciting new casting additions, including Davis and Ke Huy Quan, who will voice the Chameleon and Han, respectively. Actor Awkwafina also joins the cast as the fox Zhen, who guides Po on his journey to stop the Chameleon. As a result, Kung Fu Panda 4 is set to be the most ambitious expedition of Po’s evolution as the Dragon Warrior, as he comes across both new and old characters.
Kung Fu Panda 4
- Release Date
- March 29, 2024
- Director
- Mike Mitchell , Stephanie Stine
- Cast
- Jack Black , Awkwafina , Viola Davis , Dustin Hoffman , James Hong , Bryan Cranston , Ian McShane , Ke Huy Quan
- Rating
- Not Yet Rated
- Genres
- Action , Adventure , Animation , Martial Arts
- Studio(s)
- DreamWorks Animation
- Distributor(s)
- Universal Pictures
- prequel(s)
- Kung Fu Panda 3 , kung fu panda 2 , Kung Fu Panda
- Franchise(s)
- Kung Fu Panda
