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its-me-vixen · 3 months

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I enjoyed talking to you about it, and you said you have more to say, so... elaborate on your kfp 4 rewrite? I've been living off seeing people try and fix this movie, and there's not NEARLY enough variants around. I'd love to hear more, especially since I'm not super well-versed in the franchise lore, specifically Tai Lung as a character.

OOh In that case bestie allow me, as someone who's hyperfixated on the series off and on, to ramble. This might be long becuase I'm justing wingin it lol

So Tai Lung as a character is introduced as basically Shifu's first adopted child, an orphan he took in to train in Kung Fu with the specific intent of making him into the Dragon Warrior. Oogway denied this, causing Shifu to abandon Tai Lung, forcing him out and causing his turn to evil after everything he had trained for his entire life was taken away from him.

This series of events is why Tigress (also an orphan Shifu took in) is raised much stricter, with an emphasis on a lack of feeling.

This also is Shifu's main character arc; the transition from thinking that everything he's done has earned him control over the future but realizing he is at the whims of the universe no matter how much he try's to change things. This is extremely contradictory to how he was presented in KP4 where he's suddenly encouraging Po to make his exact mistakes in KP1 all over again, with even less effort.

Back to Tai Lung - His entire life was consumed with the acquisition of the Dragon Warrior scroll, and the appointment of Po was at odds with everything he had ever believed about the way the world worked - that raw power and skill was all that mattered. Po defeats him of course, and send him to the spirit world.

In the events of the third movie, the chi of all Kung Fu masters in the spirit world is stolen to be used by General Kai, and we can assume Tai Lung was included in that, which would have been another defeat that could have pushed him further from that ideal still. I haven't thought this aspect all too much, but with the way they present the spirit world one could assume some character change and growth from the years he spent there. I think this would contribute to a growing sense of questioning things, along with rage at failing.

This growing feeling would be brought to the surface when Tai Lung is summoned much closer to the beginning of the movie, in an opening scene taking place on the night of the blood moon, or whatever allows the spell to happen. Tai Lung is not the first to be summoned, and witnesses specifically General Kai get absorbed - similar to yours, with no body remaining. The sequence could be made to parallel Kai's own ability to take the chi of others and turn them into Jade figures, maybe leaving them transfigured into some kind of object. I'm picturing that lovely golden tree palanquin, maybe they become the jewels. The process is through a specific item with a single task.

More exploration of the Chameleon as a Sorcerer would be very important. In this scene, Tai Lung would be the audience POV witnessing what's happening. He is powerless in the moment, to his increased and endless frustration, but something unrelated happens that allows him to escape mid-absorption. We don't clearly see who or how the spell is happening, its obscured and more esoteric. The vibe is much darker, in a visible sense.

He is left powerless, unable to remember or do any kung fu, and is forced with very little choice in how to recover his power at all. He has had some ability to observe Po from the afterlife, and knows that he is now well established as the Dragon Warrior, and that he is unfortunately the most powerful person, and thus the one capable of defeating this new evil. He is reluctant, but could have some interaction that sets him on the path, like getting shoved aside by someone now much stronger than him and seeing some kind of poster about Po.

The Dragon Warrior would be more popular in my version, if only like a bit of a Mascot. This guy has saved the capital, he found the lost city of the Pandas, people may not know exactly who he is, but they know the Dragon Warrior. In the first movie, there was merchandising for the Furious Five, so there certainly would be for Po, too.

Cut to Po kicking butt, devolving into a montage of battles that he handles well and gladly, happy in his routine, until there's another transition where he's entering the Jade Palace. Shifu is noticeably older, Po has some new visual changes to his design/outfit the imply more experience and maturity. He regards Shifu with respect before relaxing into his casual, comedic self. Shifu has actually found peace, more resembling Oogway in the first film, his arc has finished and he is enjoying a peaceful life.

The Furious Five has dispersed to create their own schools or take on more permanent responsibilities elsewhere, going where they're needed. Po has put off settling down in any way, and is used to being alone on missions, seeking adventure. He finds it difficult to stay in one place for long now that his world has opened up. His dads have that scene where he's late, he's often far from town these days.

Shifu has been trying to get him to stick around for longer stretches, telling him to teach classes.

(If we consider supplementary media, Po has already had storylines about being kind of pushed into being a teacher, I recommend Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny, so while that's an aspect of this I don't want it to be the central theme of his arc over the movie.)

Shifu announces to Po that he wants to step down and is naming Po as his successor, and suddenly there's a looming future where he becomes the Master of the Jade Palace instead of the Dragon Warrior.

Po has some kind of imagination sequence about becoming something he isn't, settling down, no longer being a warrior.

Shifu snaps him back to reality and encourages him to oversee a new crop of students, illustrating how there's nothing else that needs to be done. Po oversees a scene with auditioning students. Shifu is absent. He is very bored, antsy for the thrill of adventure, but being forced to let others handle it instead. In a parallel to the first movie, Tai Lung bursts into the courtyard in the middle of the proceedings, causing a full response from the guards, all shaken because they're watching a ghost collapse to the ground. Po jumps at the opportunity for something he perceives as a task only he can accomplish.

{I'm not a great comedy writer, so please assume there's also jokes and light-hearted air to this lol}

Po confronts Tai Lung in private (jail? I'm unsure, I wasn't into how they did that) wondering what the heck is going on. Coming back from the spirit world is a thing that's been established in this world, so he wouldn't bee too shocked I don't think? He'd also be defensively cocky because he's beat this guy before, but seeing Tai Lung's actual state would defuse the tension. Po gains a feeling of sympathy for him.

Tai Lung tells him about a new, growing evil, and that no matter how much he hates it, if he wants to regain his power and return to the spirit world, he needs Po's help. They leave for Juniper City. The journey actually matters this time around, illustrating the growth of their connection, while the dynamic is similar to the journey in the film. Po is overly friendly in the eyes of the pissed off, exhausted Tai Lung, pushing his boundaries. Po is wired and a little stressed, deflecting with a manic energy. Tai Lung is jumpy and snaps often now that he feels powerless. Po offers to help him re-learn, but is quickly shot down, and so circumvents it by acting like he's casually "practicing" things. Eventually Tai Lung would have to ask a question and they would make progress forward. Tai Lung would have been clinging to the idea that he was the best and needed to get HIS power back, and that nothing Po did could be anywhere near as good, being very stubborn etc but Po would casually wear him down. They make genuine progress by the end of the sequence.

Po has a vision about the villain, and the consequences of their plans going unchecked during the last night. There is a moment where Tai Lung shows concern for Po - some kind of emotional connection. They're both awkward about it lol

When they approach the border of the city they have some kind of encounter with a citizen who gets terrified or something? Something that makes it so they have to lay very low, perhaps they're wanted, perhaps the rumor of the ghost of the formidable villain Tai Lung has been haunting the countryside. They end up in a situation where they are saved by Zhen - a fast-talking street thief of Juniper City. Also not Awkwafina lol

Tai Lung is suspicious of the fox, but Po sings the praises of helping others in need and putting good out into the world. He's still trying to be more eloquent with creating proverbs over the course of the movie, but doesn't notice saying decent ones when he isn't trying.

Zhen leads them to the underground crime syndicate place and listens incredulously as Po overshares about their goals. She says that if something like that was going down in Juniper City, she'd know about it! Tai Lung describes the place he remembers escaping from, its the palace (much less dramatic but still heavily fortified). Zhen tells them that they'll need her help to get in.

Other denizens of the underground avoid her and ignore Po, making a few scared reactions to Tai Lung. There is gossipy, nervous whispering. Time passes, Zhen has befriended Po with food and conversation. They even have a small, genuine moment of connection over something while Zhen explains their approach.

The group invades the castle.

Zhen is taken out early and encourages the others to go on without her.

They encounter the Chameleon, we get a reveal of them. I would redesign the Chameleon to be a more shadowy figure, literally, with a constantly shifting appearance in some way. A normal chameleon in this world would be able to shift colors but would otherwise look fairly simple. They are hurt by the world, and feel abandoned and isolated. There is emphasis on how their sorcery has changed them, physically and mentally. I'd also like them more androgynous as a personal choice. They are menacing and formidable, their own guards abandoning the fight as soon as magic kicks up. This is the big, flashy, gorgeous fight scene.

Tai Lung is incapacitated via sorcery. The ability to take any shape is shown here, and the transition is much more complete. Po faces the Chameleon on his own, and it's more of a draw than a defeat. He is thrown off by the mental aspect of recognizing the Masters, Chameleon fumbling with a lack of practice at these new powers. They experience joy at the intense power at their disposal. I think the Chameleon should also be a bit more mentally unstable. There's monologuing where we learn that The Chameleon's goal is to absorb Po, China's strongest warrior, and take over China. There's some kind of dialogue like,

"No Kung Fu Master could ever defeat me!"

Po gets trapped, and is saved by a self-sacrificial move from Tai Lung, forcing his escape through the floor.

Po is alone and ends up back in the underground, feeling like a failure as a leader, projecting the feeling on his running away from his responsibilities. There would be hints of his self-doubt and deflection prior.

The dads' storyline is fine, I love them, best pairing in the whole series tbh. I'd probably just shift it so they end up also in the underground, maybe feeding all the criminals haha

Po meets up with them there, feeling supported by their presence and encouragement, some kind of scene where they help him see his worth and continued potential. Po rises to the challenge of being a leader, rallying the criminals together, and having a comical scene where they all show off their various skills, and Po has to come up with a plan that uses their skills that aren't Kung Fu, the only option is to try something new.

They pull off an infiltration, the group emerging back into the throne/ritual room, there's combat, it's comical and creative. Po finds a restrained Zhen, and is happy to see her until she begins to lose her form - Zhen was always The Chameleon.

{Adored your idea for that so don't mind if I use some inspiration here!!}

A more chaotic fight ensues, everyone coming together to conquer the Chameleon with their unique gifts and new things they practiced that were explored prior. Po has a realization regarding how skills aren't exclusively useful in their original contexts.

The fight sequence ends with the item for the absorption being used against the Chameleon, while also releasing all of the previous victims, and restoring their powers. They also begin unsummoning, Tai Lung taking the item now containing all of the sorcerer magic with him into the Spirit World. Po and Tai Lung have a moment of mutual respect before he goes.

The chameleon isn't sent into the Spirit World, but is instead offered a place at the Jade Palace by Po, offering to help them learn something new.

Po would return to his responsibilities, but also give them his own unique flair!! Time would pass and you'd see The Chameleon/Zhen growing into the better person they didn't think they could be. We get a bright ending showing hope for the future.

~~~

Okay I feel batshit insane after spending like two solid hours on this??

2300+ words later and here I am lol I kept going back and revising to try and make the story beats and themeing consistent, but I haven't like, edited this with any consistency. So don't judge me if somethings don't quite make sense lol And god the pacing feels so off writing like this but hopefully it still makes sense????? Anyways. Thank you so much for asking what I would do, I had a blast thinking about this in detail!!

#me #mine #ask #kung fu panda #kung fu panda 4 #kung fu panda 4 rewrite #fanfic #?#drabble #ramble #theory #rewrite

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