Jack Black To Reprise Role As Po For Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight Netflix Series

Skadoosh! Netflix has announced their latest collaboration with DreamWorks, a new animated series based on the "Kung Fu Panda" movies titled "Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight." The show joins other Netflix/DreamWorks animated series based on movies like "All Hail King Julien," "Dawn of the Croods," "The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants," "Dragons: Rescue Riders" and the excellent "Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous." 

What makes the "Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight" announcement even more special is that we already know a little about the cast. Jack Black himself will return to voice Po in the show. This marks the first time Black has been involved with the franchise since 2016's "Kung Fu Panda 3," and the first time a member of the main cast (other than Lucy Liu) will be set to appear in a TV spin-off.

To celebrate National Panda Day, Jack Black took his stunning wise old man beard to Tik Tok to announce that he's reprising the role of Po in a new animated series. According to Netflix, "Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight" will see Po embark on a quest around the world to find redemption and stop a pair of weasels that want to collect four powerful weapons. Along the way, he will partner with an English knight to save the world, though it doesn't specify what animal the knight will be — maybe a lion?

Yesterday, I mentioned here that DreamWorks had become a decadent place full of unimaginative franchises. While they do have a lot of franchises, the studio does have some of the best-animated franchises ever. "How to Train Your Dragon" is an epic masterpiece, with a story that grows along with the audience and features gorgeous cinematography supervised by legend Roger Deakins. Similarly, the "Kung Fu Panda" trilogy is one of the best in cinema, animation or otherwise. While a lot has been said about how "Avatar: The Last Airbender" created an epic world inspired by Asian culture, "Kung Fu Panda" deserves to be in that same conversation. The film has a huge heart, hilarious one-liners and visual gags, and spectacular action choreography. 

Though we still don't have a trailer for the show, the first images for "Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight" do seem like a step up from the previous TV shows based on the franchise. The shot of that building looks stunning, and with Jack Black on board, we are at least guaranteed a fun, hilarious time. Though Netflix hasn't said whether any other original cast members will return, at least Seth Rogen seems interested. The show is executive produced by Peter Hastings ("Animaniacs") and Shaunt Nigoghossian ("Blood of Zeus"). The writers' room will be led by co-executive producers Chris Amick and Twitter movie reactions troll Ben Mekler (the very excellent "Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts").

There's no specific release date for "Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight," but Jack Black reveals it will come out in July, 2022. 

Netflix describes the animated show as such:

"When a mysterious pair of weasels set their sights on a collection of four powerful weapons, Po must leave his home to embark on a globe-trotting quest for redemption and justice that finds him partnered up with a no-nonsense English knight named Wandering Blade. Together, these two mismatched warriors set out on an epic adventure to find the magical weapons first and save the world from destruction — and they may even learn a thing or two from each other along the way."

Netflix

Netflix

Netflix