It has been almost four years since “Kung Fu Panda 2” was in theaters. Although delays have pushed pack the third installment to this very loved franchise, DreamWorks Animation has finally confirmed that the animated film’s release date will be on Mar. 18, 2016.
“Kung Fu Panda 3” was originally slated for a Dec. 23, 2015 release date, but the big wigs over at DreamWorks have changed their mind and moved it to several months later.
“The release date change felt frankly inevitable ever since Walt Disney moved ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ from May 2015 to December 18th, 2015,” Scott Mendelson of Forbes said. “I would never tell a studio that they should willingly put themselves in the oncoming path of a hurtling train.”
Deadline has noted that, unlike “Kung Fu Panda 2,” the third installment of the “Kung Fu Panda” franchise will be featuring two directors. In addition to Jennifer Yuh Nelson, Alessandro Carloni will be helming the 3rd installment.
Cartoon Brew said that Nelson was the one who personally requested Carloni to join her as the co-director of “Kung Fu Panda 3.” With the studio experiencing some struggles at the box office, adding a second director into the mix just could be what the franchise needs in order to prove to the industry that DreamWorks still has what it takes to bring animation lovers yet another hit animated film.
The lead character, Po, voiced by Jack Black, is reportedly going to come head-to-head with two new villains in “Kung Fu Panda 3,” based on a report from The International Business Times. According to Latinos Post, one of them will have some supernatural powers, while the other will come “a little closer to home.”
To date, there is only very little detail about who the villains are going to be and which celebrities will be called in to lend their voices for them.
One thing is for sure, though. “The villain of the upcoming movie is reportedly the deadliest one of the blockbuster animation movie franchise,” Yahoo! News shared.
