A majority of the Kung Fu Panda fandom is upset with Kung Fu Panda 4, a big reasoning because a new character was introduced and became the dragon warrior. Many fans agree that Tigress or Tai Lung to be the next dragon warrior. Here are my thoughts.
Tai Lung is quite older than Po. If you’re confused on how I know this, look at the timeline. Shifu raises Tai Lung, Tai Lung is an adult and is mad he isn’t the dragon warrior, he is put in prison and only then is Tigress a young child training under Shifu in the flashback, meanwhile present time Po is said to only be in his 20s in the first film if you look it up. So Tai Lung gotta be like in his 40s at least in KFP1. So yeah an evil dude way older than the current dragon warrior being next in line doesn’t really make sense to me. And if that isn’t enough reasoning for him not being chosen… he’s uh… dead?
For Tigress it’s a harder argument. Tigress is amazing. She is honestly one of my favorite characters and when the preview for the fourth film came out, I hoped she would be picked for dragon warrior. While I can’t find a reason for her not to be the dragon warrior, Oogway didn’t choose her, and that’s that. And itt wouldn’t make sense for someone Po’s age to be next in line after him. For this reason my opinion changed.
Now we have Zhen. Zhen is like Po in the sense she wasn’t expecting to be picked. Remember, they were both inexperienced, both Shifu had a bad first impression of. If you don’t like Zhen being picked because it was “random” then it’s kind of hypocritical as Po was a “random” choice too. The difference is that we see from Po’s POV and have grown to love him, I mean he’s a lot of our childhood’s after all. My issue with her though is that it was so obvious.
And it’s only fair we talk about Po. A lot of people also want him to stay dragon warrior instead. A big reasoning being he had hardly been the dragon warrior for much time. I can’t agree or disagree because I can’t find his age anywhere for the fourth film. I do think it would be a cool plot twist if he stayed the dragon warrior.
In the end, it seems like Zhen or Po being dragon warrior is the best option, mostly because of the other character’s ages. What are your thoughts? Please be respectful!
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I read this and immediately came here to say that Po should have stayed as the Dragon Warrior. I was so bothered by Shifu rushing him to choose a successor for the title and was thinking, why is he doing that? I came to realize that it was just because the movie was really poorly made. I did have a continual theory about it, but it really didn't piece together into any sense. So yeah, I think Po should have kept the title.
Tai Lung, being given the title of Dragon Warrior, would ruin the premise of the first movie, as he was never meant for the title despite all of his harsh training he went through. At best, he could have joined forces with the Furious Five and Po (I have my own fanmade storyline about that exact thing happening) and became a hero that way.
I'm not particularly fond of Tigress being the Dragon Warrior either.
I 100% think that Po should've kept the title. 500 years to look for a dragon warrior and he gets replaced in less than 20? That doesn't make any remote sense.
To play devil's advocate here, I do think it makes sense for Zhen to become the next dragon warrior, at least down the line. Oogway picked Po because of his connection to the past of/making of Kung Fu and how he had the potential to shape its future. He brought a unique perspective that no one else could. Zhen can do the same. She has lived her life with one eye over her shoulder, constantly running from danger and doing the wrong things because she didn't know any better. Having been connected to a past where every influence was a bad one to now learning what it means to be the good influence to others is just the kind of perspective Kung Fu could use.
Again, I think Po needed to be Dragon Warrior for way, way longer. It seems like Zhen being picked now was just supposed to replicate Po being picked back in the first movie given how both were unexpected and sudden. Her being picked now is basically the same vibes as Tigris being trained from basically birth to be picked as the dragon warrior rather than letting it happen naturally on its own time.
Yeah, that doesn't make any sense at all. I mean, I get that Po won't live nearly as long as Oogway, but I still think that he should make the choice about a successor on his own time and not be rushed into it.
i disagree with the panda part, does that mean the dragon warrior HAS to be a panda? or black and white?? that was oogway decision for his own reasons and past experience, not a rule.
Right, I should have elaborated.
The Dragon Warrior does not have to be a panda or black and white, obviously, but his past experiences were perfectly valid, and that was his choice.
it makes more sense now, great take
Yeah, my bad, I mistook the Dragon Warrior being a panda as a requirement for some reason lol.
I edited my comment a bit.
Post the link when you have time. I wanna see it
What I'll do is post the picture of my idea and tag your username.
there is no dragon warrior, there’s no po, AND THERE IS NO KUNG FU PANDA!
When Megamind was written, there was a Queen of England
So is there a Kung Fu Panda?
Not Tai Lung
I know we all want him to have a redemption arc, but he should not be the DW
Bestowing the title of DW as a DW is a dumb idea, but if we’re going that route, Chameleon should’ve been redeemed and became a DW overtime instead of Zhen
Think it was confirmed by a writer(cant remember her name) that Chameleon faced prejudice and stereotypes from her region of China that made her unable to practice Kung Fu, so whether she was good or bad she was excluded from something she loved, and based off SOTS the Jade Palace is more flexible than other Dojos, so she doesnt know its possible
Her motive is so simple it could literally be solved by just talking to Po, someone who knew what that felt like, someone he could train and turn towards his side. If Po is able to forgive a genocidal, mass murdering maniac, he can forgive someone who pushed a warlord down the stairs, and if Oogway was still alive he could’ve stopped it before it started, cuz shes just another Monkey case but with a different approach. She was wronged and now she wants wrong others, she also might be developmentally stunted from the abuse too(and shes presumably an orphan)
If shes able to actually learn or have a master I dont see how that couldnt change her, and it would finally give Po a villain he successfully saved
You need good character qualities to be a good dragon warrior, and unlike kung fu skills, it isn't something that can be learned easily. Chameleon could have possibly been redeemed, but no way she could have become a proper dragon warrior.
honestly my issue with 4 is I'm fine with Po needing an apprentance but there is never given a reason for it other than "we want to revitalize this with a younger more marketable in 2024 cast" Po is still kicking ass and taking names and there's no reason why Shifu needs to retire
Maybe shifu is old and is tired of doing the job that Po is supposed to be doing( since Oogway chose him as his successor) : D
I’d be fine with that disappointed but fine just give me a reason that isn’t revitalizing the franchise with a younger cast
In kfp4? No one. The new trilogy should have been like that:
1st movie - stays the same minus DW stuff
2nd - More Po & Zhen adventures, we see Zhen growing stronger
3rd - Zhen developed as a character, gets chosen as a new DW, THE END.
I kinda agree with you - introducing new character into the group is the best option, but unfortunately, it was executed kinda poorly.
On top of wgat you said, I would also say that another reason why neither Tigress or Tai Lung fit to be given the title is that they are already skilled warriors - Po has very little stuff to teach them, and so story wise such a choice would bring very little value, while a new and unskilled character will have tough time training for the title, which allows fir character development of both Po, Shifu, F5 ( since they would have to help train that character and do other interactions) and the new character itself.
Zhen could go through the same path of training to become a dragon warrior as Po did, but him being the master now and Zhen being able to explore different branches if this story that Po missed. She can be an awesome opportunity to show how wise Po has become, by avoiding mistakes Oogwsy or Shifu did in their trainings, etc.
Overall, adding new character into this role is the best choice possible, the only problem that Mike Mitchel fucked up her development and backstory quite a lot in 4th movie, but nothing that 5th movie( or maybe F5/other spin-off) can't fix.
To be faaair, Zhen is still training to be the dragon warrior. Po is shown to be training her at the end of the movie.
Po