He will be in it, although not sure how big his role will be. Theres already too many characters as is

I had an idea for Puss in 5 assuming he comes back,I know Danny Trejo was already in the spin off puss show (which is definitely non canon) but I thought they could have Trejo voice Puss's long lost brother in 5

DreamWorks proved earlier this year that there's no guarantee that characters you'd expect to be in a sequel will actually be in it. The Furious Five have been a big part of Kung Fu Panda, so everyone thought that obviously they were going to be a big part of KFP 4. If you've seen the movie, you know they were busy elsewhere and almost didn't show up at all.

@RRabbit42 What is your overall opinion about KFP4 ? I personally think it's very misunderstood.

I get it does have several flaws - A rushed pace, a predictable plot, lack of Furious Five, Shen and Kai not having dialogues, lacking the emotional depth of its predecessors but it also has a lot of praiseworthy positives.

I liked Po's character arc of accepting change and turning from dragon warrior to spiritual leader. The theme of embracing change was very good even if it did not have the same emotional weight of previous movies. I am neutral over Awkwafina and Zhen is one of the better and more interesting characters. She does have some cliched moments but I think she gave a fresh new dynamic to Po. I love the Five to death but I think it's good they took a break from them because it allowed Po and Zhen to grow more. Having them would have killed the narrative between the 2 and also would have made the franchise feel formulaic.

Chameleon is also a misunderstood villain IMO. I get it did she does not the depth and complexity of previous villains but it's not a piece of cake to write GOAT villains like Shen and Tai Lung. Chameleon is a polar opposite of Po in many ways. As Po undergoes inward transformation, Chameleon uses her external transformation powers to gain power and control. Both had similar backstories. They both are foils to each other as mentors as Chameleon exploits Zhen as a tool to get what she wants but Po who also needed Zhen to get him to the Chameleon sees good in her and provides her with Oogway's wisdom. Chameleon's backstory is valid in the Canon and there are evidences to refute the backstory criticism.

So if you dislike KFP4 or think it's mid or just okay, I respect your opinion. I am just giving you food for thought.

Chameleon was awesome, just had a very rushed backstory

The heart of the story is Po resisting change and wanting everything to stay the same. If the Furious Five were present, it may have worked against that. It would have made KFP4 another "Po teams up with the Five to fight a villain" movie.

Because they were given a task by the writers that kept them completely away from the story, it gave Po more time to be confronted by change and come to accept that the path he needed to walk was different than he wanted. It also allowed him to see that there was someone else who was a lot like him and would be a good choice to take over the title of Dragon Warrior, after she also had to face changes she didn't want.

In this way, KFP4 is a lot like Cars 3. Life is good for Lightning McQueen until change forces itself on his world. The rookies were telling him it was time to retire and he was fighting it until he had no choice but to deal with it when he crashed. He was haunted by the thought of what happened to Doc was happening to him.

He still wanted things to stay the same, but in his search for what would allow him to keep it the same, he learned there was a different road he needed to drive on. He saw there was someone else a lot like him that needed what he could provide: a chance to race by him stepping aside.

This analogy isn't perfect because McQueen got what Po didn't: being able to alternate between being a teacher and being a racer. But for Po, changing to be just a teacher worked for him.

I agree. The difference is McQueen semi retires. He is a racer as well as a mentor to Chief while Po becomes a spiritual leader and Zhen becomes dragon warrior.

I disagree with the criticism that KFP4 rehashes Po's arc in 3 just because Shifu and Po have similar conversations. In 3, the conversation was about Shifu telling Po about mastery of chi which requires mastery of self which for Shifu meant meditating in a cave for 30 years after becoming a teacher.

In 4, the conversation is about Po becoming the next Oogway. In KFP3, everyone thought Shifu would become the next Oogway but we know it's Po because Oogway handed the Staff to Po and declared him as his "true successor". Po does say that he only knows kicking butt despite his arc in 3 because he still uses chi to kick butt and occasionally to heal people or bloom flowers. A kung fu master teachers Kung fu or combat skills while a spiritual leader is supposed to pass wisdom and inspire hope.

The cars 3 similarity is different because at least po was trapped and couldn't help, so Zhen had to save the day. Whereas in cars 3 McQueen literally just gave up and had Mrs Cruise win the race

Not really. If you remember Po was actually faking it so that Zhen could defeat Chameleon.