Jack Black has returned to the “Kung Fu Panda” franchise.
Black will return to voice Po in “Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight,” a new animated original series coming soon to Netflix from DreamWorks Animation. Previously, he voiced the titular Kung Fu Panda in three DreamWorks Animation features, some short films that appeared on the home video releases of the films, and a Christmas special (2010’s “Kung Fu Panda Holiday”).
While, barring the holiday special, Black has been noticeably absent from the small-screen iterations of the character (“Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness” ran from 2011 to 2016 and “Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness” ran from 2018 to 2019) as well as his appearances in theme park attractions like the 4D film at Universal Studios Hollywood, making this something of a homecoming.
The official synopsis for the new “Kung Fu Panda” show reads: “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.” You’ve always got to be careful about weasels! Roger Rabbit could have told you that!
Peter Hastings and Shaunt Nigoghossian will serve as executive producers, while Chris Amick and Ben Mekler are co-executive producers.
No release date has been announced for “Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight,” but with Black back in the driver’s seat, it’ll no doubt be worth the wait.