With the first trailer for "Kung Fu Panda 3' released this week, Jack Black once again leads a star-studded voice cast that includes Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Bryan Cranston, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, Rebel Wilson and J.K. Simmons.
Director Jennifer Shuh, who previously helmed "Kung Fu Panda 2', takes on directorial duties once again and is joined by co-director Alessandro Carloni. "Kung Fu Panda' screenwriting pair Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger also worked on the script.
The third installment of the popular animated film franchise about a furry panda martial artist follows the story of Po (Black) as he crosses paths with his long-lost biological father, Li (Cranston).
Although they look strongly similar to each other, both do not realize that they only come from the same family tree.
"You lost your son?" Po asks. "Yes, many years ago," Li answers back.
"I lost my father," Po says. After exchanging a polite goodbye, a crowd of onlookers reacts and makes the face-palm in disbelief.
Although Po is not quick enough, he eventually reunites with his father, meets more pandas and fights off a supernatural antagonist named Kai (Simmons).
"I've played a variety of badasses in my career. I do like to mix it up. I like being a character actor playing different kinds of guys. Or, now, different kinds of beasts," Simmons shares about playing various onscreen roles.
As the official film synopsis states: "Po must do the impossible - learn to train a village full of his fun-loving, clumsy brethren to become the ultimate band of Kung Fu Pandas!"
Jolie makes a comeback as Tigress while Chan's Monkey and Hoffman's Shifu also join Po as his kung fu colleagues, all of whom are shown during the start of the trailer.
DreamWorks is reportedly looking forward to a huge debut for "Kung Fu Panda 3', especially in China, after the studio's recent films, such as "Turbo' and "Mr. Peabody and Sherman', underperformed in the box office.
Making an official debut in 2008, "Kung Fu Panda' had been a commercial success and a strong contender at the box office, having a total gross of over $630 million at cinemas worldwide.
Its sequel, released in 2011, did even better as it raked in more than $665 million at the global box office.
"Kung Fu Panda 3' is set to hit cinemas in March 2016, although a date is yet to be confirmed.
Its first trailer can be viewed below.
