DreamWorks Brings Kung Fu Panda 3 Forward, Animated Threequel Now Pegged For January 2016

DreamWorks Animation may have recently announced plans to scale back from the admittedly ambitious three-films-per-year business model, but that doesn’t negate the staying power of the studio’s beloved IP moving forward. As a matter of fact, the company today announced that it has reshuffled the release date for upcoming threequel Kung Fu Panda 3, meaning that Po’s latest adventure will hit cinema screens on January 29, 2016, as opposed to March 18.

Aside from How To Train Your Dragon, Kung Fu Panda remains as one of DreamWorks’ most lucrative franchises, and considering that the previous two films have pulled in a staggering $1.3 billion between them, all eyes are on the third installment to deliver a sure-fire hit. And truth be told, the studio is in need of a financial boon, with Rise of the Guardians, Turbo and Mr. Peabody and Sherman failing to kickstart new franchises for the company in recent years.

Mind you, Po and Co. have done it before, and given that Kung Fu Panda 3 boasts a class that includes the likes of Gary Oldman, Dustin Hoffman, David Cross, Angelina Jolie, Michelle Yeoh, Mads Mikkelsen, Danny McBride, Lucy Liu, Seth Rogen, Jackie Chan, James Hong, and Bryan Cranston, there’s no question that the threequel has all the necessary ingredients in the voice booth.

Following today’s announcement, Kung Fu Panda 3 will now karate kick its way into theaters on January 29, 2016. To gain a gist of Po’s upcoming adventure prior to release, be sure to check out the official synopsis below.

Continuing on his now legendary adventures of awesomeness, Po must face two hugely epic, but very different threats: one supernatural and the other a little closer to home. This chapter in the continuing adventures of Kung Fu Panda is directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson, who also helmed the worldwide hit Kung Fu Panda 2 and features a script by series writers Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger.