Earlier this week, Deadline reported that Alessandro Carloni joined Jennifer Yuh to co-direct DreamWorks’ upcoming animated feature Kung Fu Panda 3.

Carloni joined Yuh as a director after Yuh personally requested that DreamWorks executives add Carloni to the project because she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to finish the film on time by herself. With the recent struggle DreamWorks has had with underperforming films at the box-office, it seems only fitting that DreamWorks tries the best it can to make sure this film will make its planned release date in May of 2016. The film has already been pushed back once from its original release date in December of this year.

Carloni previously worked as a story artist on Kung Fu Panda 2 and as head of story on both How to Train Your Dragon films. He was originally set to direct DreamWorks’ highly anticipated feature Me and My Shadow but, ever since the film got pushed back in development in 2013, we haven’t heard much about his involvement with the project. We’ve heard several rumors that Chicken Little’s Mark Dindal took over to direct Me and My Shadow, but there’s no official word on those rumors yet.

Jennifer Yuh previously directed the second installment in the Kung Fu Panda franchise, which made her the first ever female director to solo direct a major animated feature.

Kung Fu Panda 3 will continue where Kung Fu Panda 2 left off. In the film Po has to face two huge threats: one supernatural and the other a little closer to his home. The entire original cast will return to reprise their respective roles and Bryan Cranston, Rebel Wilson and Mads Mikkelsen will also join the cast to play currently unknown characters.

Kung Fu Panda 3 is coming to theaters on March 18, 2016.

Are you excited for Kung Fu Panda 3?  Let us know in the comments below!

Edited by: Hannah Wilkes