Kung Fu Panda: Chronicles of a Grandmaster

Kung Fu Panda: Chronicles of a Grandmaster is an American animated web television series based on the Kung Fu Panda franchise. It is a prequel series taking place 500 years before the events of the Kung Fu Panda movies and tells the story of Master Oogway's time as a warlord in the Imperial Army, fighting alongside his brother-at-arms General Kai.

Premise
500 years ago, Master Oogway wasn't so straight-laced as we may know him now. He was an ambitious warlord leading a great army alongside his brother-at-arms, General Kai. Their adventures were many, and all of what happened would ultimately come to shape who Oogway is today.

Cast

 * Randall Duk Kim as Master Oogway-main character of the series, Grandmaster of the Jade Palace-turned warlord. Having been blackmailed by a rival into leaving the Jade Palace and joining the Imperial Army, Oogway's personality is drastically altered by military life.
 * JK Simmons as General Kai, Oogway's best friend and brother-at-arms

Production
After the box office flop and mediocre reviews of Kung Fu Panda 4, DreamWorks announced that Po's story arc was over and they would shift their focus to another character to make up for the unfortunate failure. In July 2024, they announced that a new series focusing on Oogway was in the works. Randall Duk Kim and JK SImmons, the voice actors of Oogway and Kai, respectively, both confirmed that they would reprise their roles. Production of the first season began in August 2024 and finished in late 2025. The series premiered on February 7, 2026.

Reception
The series was positively received by viewers, who praised the writing, hand-drawn animation, music and many other aspects of the series. Most fans went as far as to say that the series was better than the three previous Kung Fu Panda series: Legends of Awesomeness; The Paws of Destiny; and The Dragon Knight, due to its consistent writing and lore, which they say never at any time contradicted the lore of the films.

Trivia

 * Unlike the three prior Kung Fu Panda spinoff series, this one is considered canon by the fans due to the consistency of the writing and lore. Surely enough, after the first season aired, DreamWorks, in response, officially confirmed the series to be canon to the Kung Fu Panda franchise.
 * It is the first and only Kung Fu Panda series to be entirely of hand-drawn animation.
 * Randall Duk Kim, Oogway's voice actor, claims that he broke down in the recording booth while recording Oogway's lines in the ultimate and penultimate episodes of the series due to their emotional intensity. Overall, Kim immensely enjoyed his voice acting role, as did JK Simmons.