The Tiger’s Apprentice has plenty of justification for a sequel. The animated movie is an exciting and lively adventure that follows Tom Lee, a Chinese-American boy who has to become an apprentice to a super-powered talking tiger. Based on a trilogy of novels by prolific fantasy author Laurence Yep, and having already become a hit on Paramount+, The Tiger’s Apprentice 2 seems like the logical next step — though nothing is officially confirmed just yet.
Sequel Chances
The success of The Tiger’s Apprentice will make or break the chances of a sequel. At the time of writing, the numbers are still being collated. With animated features being time-consuming, and expensive, Paramount will be carefully looking at the numbers before green-lighting a sequel, however, it does appear that the filmmakers may be hoping for one, as the narrative leaves itself open for more stories in this world. We broke down The Tiger’s Apprentice ending in detail if you’re curious.
The source material has also spawned two follow-up novels, so the material is there. However, at the end of the day, it will all come down to the numbers.
Critical Responses
In our review right here on Ready Steady Cut, we gave the film a positive three out of five stars, saying:
While the movie is predictable, formulaic, and doesn’t add anything new to the genre, there’s nothing inherently wrong with that. As a children’s animation, The Tiger’s Apprentice is a perfectly adequate family-friendly movie. It has the classic hero’s journey with a sympathetic protagonist who learns about his magical destiny. The lore is fun and easy enough to follow, while the adventures shown on screen are easily awe-inspiring for the film’s target age demographic.
Meanwhile, elsewhere on the internet, Collider calls it “a bright and entertaining adventure,” while The Hollywood Reporter also ponders its future, saying, “The Tiger’s Apprentice doesn’t really have the heft for the big screen, for which it was originally intended, but it’s easy to imagine it spawning sequels or perhaps a streaming series.”
IMDb sees the film just slightly above average with a disappointing 5.5/10, with some reviewers saying the film “wastes its potential” and is basically “undercooked”.
What could The Tiger’s Apprentice 2 be about?
The most obvious way forward for a sequel would be to once again look at the original material and go from there. The film was based on the novel of the same name by prolific fantasy author Laurence Yep, and the first book has two sequels called Tiger’s Blood and Tiger Magic. If the sequel is green-lit, there is no doubt they would look at those follow-ups and adapt accordingly.
The official synopsis on Goodreads for the second book in the series probably best describes what the sequel would be about:
“Ever since Tom became the apprentice to Mr. Hu, the Guardian of the phoenix egg, his life has been a whirlwind. Now Mr. Hu is weak after saving Tom’s life in battle, and the two must flee with their motley crew of friends to the dragon kingdom, far below the ocean’s surface. While Tom waits for Mr. Hu to recover, he realizes that even the dragons cannot promise safety. And as an unstoppable evil advances, Tom must find the strength within to protect the egg by himself.”
