Are you ready for some awesomeness? USA Today just released a first official look at DreamWorks’ upcoming Kung Fu Panda 3 and it looks pretty awesome.
Kung Fu Panda 3 continues where Kung Fu Panda 2 left off as Po’s biological father, Li, discovers his long-lost son is still alive. Po discovers the secret panda village where his father lived ever since the fierce panda attack, which we saw in Kung Fu Panda 2, and reunites with the other pandas in the village.
One of the new panda characters that Po meets is Mei Mei, a romantic young female panda described as a “wannabe ribbon dancer.” The article clearly mentions that Kung Fu Panda 3 won’t turn out to be a love story, so it will be interesting to see what Mei Mei’s purpose in the movie is (especially since early synopses for the film mention an arranged marriage between Po and Mei Mei). Mei Mei will be voiced by the always hilarious Rebel Wilson.
“Po’s a little freaked out, since he’s never been around a female of his own species,” says Jack Black, who returns to voice Po. Speaking of Po, Black explains, “I don’t think he has game in that realm yet.” It will be interesting to see the interaction between Po and Mei Mei.
For research director Jennifer Yuh visited the Chengdu Research Base in China to study panda behavior. “That is the most shockingly adorable place — there are nurseries filled with gaggles of baby pandas,” Yuh said to USA Today. “A lot of how the pandas play was inspiration for the movie.” Yuh is no stranger to directing, as she previously directed Kung Fu Panda 2 for DreamWorks. Alessandro Carloni has joined her this time around to co-direct.
The entire original voice cast – including Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, and Dustin Hoffman – return to their respective roles. Bryan Cranston and Rebel Wilson join the voice cast as Li (Po’s father) and Mei Mei, respectively.
“In 2016, one of the most successful animated franchises in the world returns with its biggest comedy adventure yet, ‘KUNG FU PANDA 3’. When Po’s long-lost panda father suddenly reappears, the reunited duo travels to a secret panda paradise to meet scores of hilarious new panda characters. But when the supernatural villain Kai begins to sweep across China defeating all the kung fu masters, Po must do the impossible—learn to train a village full of his fun-loving, clumsy brethren to become the ultimate band of Kung Fu Pandas!”
Kung Fu Panda 3 opens in theaters January 19, 2016.
Are you excited for Kung Fu Panda 3? Which new still is your favorite?
[UPDATE 6/11/15 08:25 AM]
Yahoo Italy revealed two more stills from the movie. These stills feature Po and his father.
Edited by: Hannah Wilkes