Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting… Again
Geeks flipping for any kind of morsel of news were all jazzed up this weekend when the synopsis and new logo (wow!) for “Kung Fu Panda 2: Kaboom Of Doom” appeared online on the film’s official site. Now something a little more concrete, though barely, has arrived in the film’s teaser trailer, which like most teaser trailers doesn’t show a lot. All of the original characters (and their celebrity voices) will be reprising their respective roles; Jack Black (Po), Angelina Jolie (Tigress), Jackie Chan (Monkey), Seth Rogen (Mantis), Lucy Liu (Viper), David Cross (Crane) and Dustin Hoffman (Master Shifu). New additions include Gary Oldman as the new villain, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Michelle Yeoh and Victor Garber.
There’s been a lot of noise made about the fact that heralded screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (“Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind“) was hired to do a rewrite on the project, but frankly, it just sounded like a polish and a punch-up and we would highly doubt Dreamworks is going to let him stray far from the winning formula, considering the sequel is like money in the bank (the original grossed $215 million domestically in 2008 making for a worldwide total of $631 million and the third-highest grossing international film of that year).
Synopsis and new teaser trailer below the jump.
Po is now living his dream as The Dragon Warrior, protecting the Valley of Peace alongside his friends and fellow kung fu masters, The Furious Five – Tigress, Crane, Mantis, Viper and Monkey. But Po’s new life of awesomeness is threatened by the emergence of a formidable villain, who plans to use a secret, unstoppable weapon to conquer China and destroy kung fu. It is up to Po and The Furious Five to journey across China to face this threat and vanquish it. But how can Po stop a weapon that can stop kung fu? He must look to his past and uncover the secrets of his mysterious origins; only then will he be able to unlock the strength he needs to succeed.
Scheduled for a May 26, 2011 release, ‘Kaboom of Doom’ will also arrive, of course, in 3D. Though let’s be fair, animation in 3D seems to work and isn’t as annoying as post-conversion 3D. It will probably make a bundle of money. The sequel is not being directed by Mark Osborne and John Stevenson and instead Jennifer Yuh, credited with “head of story” on the original will be helming instead.