Summary

  • The Furious Five will appear in Kung Fu Panda 4 among many other familiar characters.
  • While it's likely the Furious Five won't have a major role, all the old characters including Mr. Ping, Li, and Shifu will be back in the movie. Several new characters, including Chameleon, Han, and Zhen, will also be introduced.
  • The first official trailer for Kung Fu Panda 4 has been released, revealing details about the new characters and hinting at their importance in the story.

Kung Fu Panda franchise, which chronicles the adventures of a clumsy panda named Po, has become one of DreamWorks' biggest success stories. After three hugely successful installments in the franchise, the company is gearing up to release Kung Fu Panda 4. Since the announcement of a new movie, there have been several questions, one major one being if the famed Furious Five, Master Tigress, Master Viper, Master Monkey, Master Mantis, and Master Crane, will make an appearance.

In a recent conversation with Collider, Mitchell, alongside Rebecca Huntley, the Kung Fu Panda 4 producer, discussed the forthcoming animated movie, responding to the speculation about returning characters. Mitchell explicitly states that the Furious Five, along with many other familiar faces, will be appearing in the latest installment of the Kung Fu Panda franchise. Read their comments below:

MITCHELL: They make an appearance, I'll tell you that much. But to be fair, Po is leaving the Valley of Peace and he's going on a huge adventure to this giant city…

HUNTLEY: Where he will encounter many, many new characters.

MITCHELL: Loads. And he has to work with this entire band of thieves to fight the villain. By the way, all the old characters are back – Mr Ping, Li, played by Bryan Cranston, Shifu, played by Dustin Hoffman, and then James Hong who plays Ping. Tons of characters. All the characters come back. Every single character that you comes back, and a few villains that I don't want to spoil. But really, we wanted to introduce a whole slew of new characters which we did.

Which Other Characters Will Appear in Kung Fu Panda 4?

Jack Black as Po, Awkwafina as Zhen, and James Hong as Mr. Ping standing in front of boat in Kung Fu Panda 4

Based on Mitchell's comments, it sounds like the Furious Five may not be a major part of Kung Fu Panda 4's story, though audiences will undoubtedly appreciate seeing them for however long. Luckily, it seems viewers can expect several new and essentially all of the returning characters. As far as new characters go, a few are already known.

Tai Lung in Kung Fu Panda 4
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It has been confirmed that Oscar winners Viola Davis and Ke Huy Quan will be part of the cast, playing the roles of Chameleon and Han, respectively. Davis' character has been set up as a key antagonist for Po and boasts a scary set of skills. Meanwhile, Han is a Sunda pangolin who the film's official synopsis describes as the leader of the Den of Thieves.

The first official trailer for Kung Fu Panda 4 was recently released, and it reveals details about another new character named Zhen, a crafty thief who Po trains to become the new dragon warrior. Zhen is played by Golden Globe winner Awkwafina, and she is expected to feature heavily in the forthcoming movie. It will be interesting to see how these new characters are incorporated with other familiar faces, including the Furious Five.

Source: Collider