Dreamworks Sequels

[Krakalakachkn]

So, Dreamworks is thinking up some serious sequelage for the future.

 

DreamWorks Animation Chief Jeffrey Katzenberg tells Empire that when a film is a success at his studio, sequels to said film are a guarantee as far as he's concerned.

 

Don't think this is a cash-grabbing venture either, no apparently a third "Madagascar" is warranted because the story demands it, so they're already prepared for it - "What our movies and our franchises also share in common with Shrek is that they have a beginning, a middle and an end; they're not open-ended. Each of the films is a chapter of a story and in every instance we knew what that journey was or could be before we even started."

 

Asked about said third "Madagascar", Katzenberg says we can probably expect another beyond that - "Ultimately they [the "Madagascar" animals] will come back to New York, and they will come to terms with that, which they will do in this next chapter. Because of the way that movie concludes there's probably one more for them. Yeah, there's probably a fourth there."

 

What about their two most acclaimed films thus far - "Kung Fu Panda" and "How to Train Your Dragon"? "'Kung Fu Panda' actually has six chapters to it, and we've mapped that out over the years. 'How to Train Your Dragon' is at least three: maybe more, but we know there are a least three chapters to that story. There are actually eight books."

 

So get ready for "Kung Fu Panda 6" in 2023.

 

 

Yeah, because Shrek 2, Shrek the Third, Shrek Goes Forth, Shrek the Halls, and Scared Shrekless were all "warranted by the story" and not "cashing in on the success of the original". Don't get me wrong, I love Shrek 2, but the rest aren't very good. Shrek the Third was notable for the addition of the character Puss in Boots, a very good character in my mind, but Shrek Goes Forth was garbage.

 

I look forward to Kung Fu Panda sequels, but I have a hard time imagining a six-movie story arc from such a simple premise...although I guess simple premises are sometimes the easiest to write new material for.

 

I loved HTYD and can't wait for the sequel. Again, I'm not confident HTYD could go beyond three, but I guess we will see.

 

Madagascar was decent, but I never watched the 2nd one.