Jack Black explains what sold him on Kung Fu Panda

When Jack Black took on the role of enthusiastic kung fu fanboy Po the Panda, he couldn’t have known that he’d still voice the character nearly 15 years later. But Black is back as Po in Netflix’s new animated series Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight. Even though Black voiced the character across all three Kung Fu Panda movies, beginning with 2008’s Kung Fu Panda, he hasn’t reprised the role for the two previous television shows. Black, in honor of his return as his exuberant martial-arts master panda character has reflected back on the circumstances that led to him assuming this role.

As he tells Polygon, back in the mid-2000s, he’d never done voice acting before. Jeffrey Katzenberg, DreamWorks founder and CEO sold him one pitch.

“Jeffrey Katzenberg told me, You don’t have to worry about creating some new character. It’s okay to just be yourself.,” Black explains. “And he got some footage, I think it was audio from School of RockYou can also call it: High ConfidenceHe had one of my older movies and asked the animators to create a quick animation with that audio. It was amazing. Ah, it’s all good, I now understand.It was fun to be me when I started. The animators did all of the fighting scenes. I got to be kind of a superhero, but with all of my natural instincts.”

Image courtesy of Netflix

The Kung Fu Panda series has remained strong after being made into three films, two TV shows, and a few short movies. It’s partly the epic kung fu, partly the fun comedic shenanigans, and partly the endearing characters — especially Po.

“He’s eternally this nerdy kid,” says Black. “[He]Kung fu is a passion of mine, as well as the action figures, mythology surrounding it and all the great masters. And I think it appeals to the childlike fascination, sense of adventure that we all have.”

Except for Po (James Hong) and his goose dad, Ping [Ping]], not many characters from the past will be returning to the show. There’s a reason for that, though. Po team up with Rita Ora, an English knight who is known as the Wandering Blade. The two embark together on an adventure around the globe that will take them away from China and lead them to other parts of the world. It’s a much more expansive setting than the movies, and one Black was particularly excited for.

“I joked with Peter [Hastings], our director, that every time we went to a new place, whenever Po went to a new land, I needed to sample the cuisine,” says Black. “Needless to say, I tasted many delicious new dishes. I was able to taste the new flavors. This was part of my professional acting research. I needed to go there.”

Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight Netflix hits July 14.