Since we do not know if he is actually dead or not it would be great if they brought back Tai Lung as a villain again only this time with better and newer kung fu skills..
shareAs much as I liked Tai Lung, gotta say that I can't see that happening.
shareTai Lung is an awesome character, and I'm hoping he returns at some point. My hopes aren't too high for it, especially since the third film may not be the right opportunity, but whatever happened to him is still a mystery. I mean he disappears in a golden mystic wave as a result of Po bending his pinkie. That's pretty open to possibilities.
But if Tai Lung did return, I feel there should be a good reason. I don't think he should be the same character with upgraded powers. There should be change, a reason for his survival and reappearance. Maybe he's more of an anti-hero who's actually not as strong as he once was? Maybe the Wuxi finger hold had some crippling effect on him?
Or maybe he is just dead and they'll use him that way somehow. There is that "supernatural threat" being talked about...
But if Tai Lung did return, I feel there should be a good reason. I don't think he should be the same character with upgraded powers. There should be change, a reason for his survival and reappearance. Maybe he's more of an anti-hero who's actually not as strong as he once was? Maybe the Wuxi finger hold had some crippling effect on him?
I don't think it has, but I personally don't count the show as canon anyway so I don't pay it much mind...
There was sort of a reference in the holiday special, in a dream about Po fighting Tai Lung, he began to say "I thought you were dea--" but Tai Lung pounds him into the ground before he can finish.
Even if Po and the others think Tai Lung is dead though, it wouldn't necessarily mean he is, or couldn't return in some supernatural way. There's just so much potential with Tai Lung and the Wuxi finger hold, I think it'd be a real waste for him to never show up again.
Seriously? Tai Lung is dead and yes it's confirmed. We didn't physically see it simply because this is a kid's film so they didn't want to be too violent, but there's no logical reason to think he survived what is considered the deadliest kung fu move in this story's world.
Yes I understand how some film's or shows use the fact that we didn't actually see a character die as a way to potentially bring them back at some point, but it would be beyond lame if they did that here. Po was right there when he executed the attack to finish off Tai Lung, so if he didn't die then why would Po just hide that? There's no logic whatsoever.
And besides, I don't see bringing his character back being very worthwhile anyway. Would probably be the equivalent of Megatron being brought back in Transformers 2. Now granted that film was weak all around, but even for what it was that added almost nothing. The new villain would have been sufficient alone. In some cases a returning villain works, but more often than not it ends up being really lame. Unless you established that they survived and their story wasn't over in their first film, it's generally just going to turn into a cheesy revenge-obsession story.
Again, not that it's impossible to make work, but I really don't see this being a case where it would. Let those villain stories be remembered and completed as they already are.
If you don't want to be spoiled, you shouldn't be here in the first place.
I understand what you are saying. But everywhere I have been going they say his death is unknown or assumed deceased meaning they do not know if he is dead or alive.
shareI understand the "get rid of the villain in a non-graphic way" reasoning too. But, we have had characters die in pretty obvious PG ways in these films. Oogway turning into petals before saying "My time has come", an exploding cannon falling on Shen, weapon-wielding bad guys going after Po's mother, a knife shot at Wolf Boss... With Tai Lung, it's not that clear. Just poof, he's gone. I see no reason why he couldn't have survived or be encountered in some way at least. The mysteriousness is really open to possibilities, I think.
That said, I'm not holding my breath for Tai Lung to show up. It probably won't happen, but who knows... especially when we don't even know much about KFP 3.
Don't know about Tai Lung returning, but i did love his character. The fact that his life was so tightly interwoven with the Shifu's fate and that it was a real mixup of love and hate, it really was a dramatic combination. I wish they showed him again, maybe not as a villain, but as a villain-turned-good type of person, since Tai Lung was never truly evil, more like a child whose raising went horribly wrong.
shareI hope Tai Lung is alive. I want him to redeem himself.
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Pretty sure no one in the show ever said Tai Lung died, or what actually happened to him, he's just defeated, gone, etc. But even if the characters think he's dead, it doesn't mean he is. Actually, the surprise could make his reappearance work well, IMO. I think it could be a cool reveal, considering the vagueness of the whole Wuxi finger hold thing.
And I don't think anyone from DreamWorks has said if the series is canon or not. It has a lot of weird and inconsistent things going on, so maybe it's its own thing like the Penguins of Madagascar.
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I've seen that episode too, and I think the word "skadooshed" was used, so it was implied, but not exactly confirmed. And again, not sure if the show is canon, or if Po thinking Tai Lung is dead is enough to rule out his return.
Tai Lung is probably dead, but if so it's from something very mystical, and the KFP universe hasn't confirmed what it is. So I think the possibilities are there, and it could be cool to explore them.
For what it's worth, Jennifer Yuh Nelson did declare that Tai Lung was dead in this interview.
http://www.fantasy-magazine.com/new/new-nonfiction/feature-interview-j ennifer-yuh-nelson-director-of-kung-fu-panda-2/
We learn a lot more about Po’s backstory in this film. Was that always part of the plan going into the sequel?
Yes. Because the question we kept getting after the first movie was “Why is Po’s dad [Mr. Ping] a goose?” Everyone kept asking us that. (That and “Is Tai Lung dead,” and yes, he’s dead!) Who Po is and what makes him tick and why he’s in the noodle shop working for his dad—who happens to be a goose—is an open-ended character question. And that’s something we started with in the sequel as the big character question that took us into how we develop the story. It was the core theme of the film.
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Yes, I know about that quote. Still, it hasn't been confirmed in the KFP universe itself. Ideas can change, and there is that synopsis about a "supernatural threat" in the next film...
Anyway, let's remember that this is all speculation. I'm not saying Tai Lung is alive, or that it's likely he'll return. All I'm saying is, story-wise, I think it could work. That's all.
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I meant the stuff I was saying was speculation. I'm not holding my breath that it'll happen, I just think it's a cool idea, for a character in a story.
sharePersonally, I don't think Tai Lung should return physically, either as a villain or as a good guy (which frankly is much worse because it breaks the character). Instead they could use small references - like myths and legends surrounding him. They could also use him in visions that either Po or Shifu has.
I really liked Tai Lung but bringing him back in a full capacity would be too much of a good thing.
(That and “Is Tai Lung dead,” and yes, he’s dead!)
I think Tai Lung should come back, but not as a villain. I think a redemption story would work very well for him, and I have read fanfics that show it happening in a very realistic, convincing, well-developed way with everyone in character.
I do want him to come back, because I believe there is still hope for him. And no, it was never made clear what happened to him after the Wuxi finger hold. If nobody knows what happened to him, that leaves a plothole.
Shifu’s comment on the hold (‘the hardest part is cleaning up afterwards’) implies a physical, messy end. Yet there is no such evidence of such an end with Tai Lung, giving us the impression that something out of the ordinary happened. Not to mention that knowing Po’s gentle nature, I personally find it hard to believe that he would up and kill somebody in cold blood for any reason. It’s also interesting to note that Po said “I defeated Tai Lung,” not “I killed Tai Lung.”
So up to now, we have one reason for Tai Lung to return; there is no discernable end for him, which is a good preparation for bringing him back. Now there is the matter of his character.
At the most basic level, Tai Lung was an innocent child overwhelmed by dreams too big for him to achieve. He is a troubled soul who has issues dealing with failure, and has a hard temper. His crime was evil; there is no doubt about that. And his time in prison was just. However, it is unfair to chalk him up as a too-far-gone villain. When he escaped and confronted Shifu, there was a definite moment where he had second thoughts and considered accepting his apology, if only for a few seconds. When Shifu tried to reach out to him, Tai Lung’s eyes showed signs of kindness, sadness, sorrow, and regret in a few flickering moments. That alone showed me that there still COULD be hope for Tai Lung. If anything, Shifu could almost be considered the villain for creating Tai Lung. There is deepness to Tai Lung’s character that in my opinion, rivals that of Po and Shifu, who are the other deep characters in the first movie.
To sum it up, Tai Lung’s character was incredibly deep and developed, and he met an end that leaves us wondering where he went and what happened to him. I enjoyed this movie, and thoroughly enjoyed a particular character’s journey and was not satisfied with the open end he was left with.
There is so much that could be done with Tai Lung should he be brought back. In my mind, a story of redemption and regaining the honor Tai Lung had before he attacked and destroyed the Valley of Peace, as well as his relationship with Shifu would work best. There are so many possibilities with that story; I would LOVE it if the creators of Kung Fu Panda would get creative and go the best routes they can. They could tell any story they want with that setup!
To get an idea of how a redemption story of Tai Lung could really work, I would check out Luna Goldsun's That's Why They Call It The Present, or nievelion's A Different Lesson. You can check them out both here:
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4371270/1/That-s-Why-They-Call-It-the-Pre sent
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4691143/1/A-Different-Lesson
Of course they would have to let up on a lot of the mature content presented in these stories, but these stories are full of ideas that the writers could take off running with, as well as deliver their own good ideas and put their own spins on the ideas they may take from these.
If the writers do decide not to ever bring back Tai Lung, I’ll be disappointed but I will get over it if the movies are great otherwise. However, if they do decide to bring him back at all, I REALLY don't want them to make him a flat, one-note villain who never shows any sign of redemption or remorse. I’d rather he stay dead, vanished, or fate unknown than be brought back as a shadow of the deep, complex, fascinating character he was.
I like Tai Lung too, but i think there is big room enough to play with its character in various kinds of dreams and nightmares. I don't really believe someone can write so good scenario that would not leave any doubts, if Tai Lung phisically had appeared.
I actually don't want a real meeting of these two. They've already said enough one to another, eh?
Dreamworks can tell a full story about him just putting it into some side storyline, prequel, or i don't know where.
Skadoosh! means the target is transferred to spirit realm. the villain for KP3 should have been TAI LUNG instead of some cheap nobody.
really disappointing
Good points. One of the big subplots has been family and the father/son relationship between Po and Mr. Ping. Now Po must balance that with his biological father. The return of an exiled Tai Lung and his attempt to reconcile with Shifu might add greatly to the family theme if it doesn't take too much time from the main movie.
shareOr he could come back for the 4th or 5th movie. I agree with these last posters, I want Tai Lung to come back so he CAN be an ally to Po and the Five. I think he and Po could turn into friends.
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