Jeffrey Katzenberg has confirmed to Empire that multiple sequels are in the works for DreamWorks Animation’s Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon franchises.
Currently planned for release on May 18, 2012, Madagascar 3 will likely be followed by a fourth Madagascar film to round out the series, Katzenberg explained. The third film is said to leave open a conclusion to the series, bringing the animals back to New York where they started.
Kung Fu Panda 2 is scheduled for May 27, 2011 and plans call for it be followed by an additional four films, making for six chapters total.
How to Train Your Dragon 2, meanwhile, has an unscheduled release planned for 2013 and will be followed by at least one additional film. Though Katzenberg says a basic arc is in mind for where the characters will ultimately be headed, Dragon seems to currently have the loosest framework, with the suggestion being that the franchise could have as many as eight chapters, matching Cressida Cowell’s literary output.