Somebody once told me they really wanted a new movie from the Shrek universe, and guess what, it’s officially happening. That’s right, we will finally be getting a Shrek 5 release date at some point in the future.
The original animated movie was a wild success, and the popularity of the ogre and his donkey friend has spawned multiple sequels, shorts, and spin-offs since. The latest in a long line of Shrek movies was actually not about the titular beast at all, but instead focused on Puss in Boots, and it was so good it received a nomination at the Oscars. Check out our Puss in Boots: The Last Wish review to see just how great it actually was.
Now, thanks to a report from Variety, we’ve news that Chris Meledandri is working hard to bring the original cast of Shrek back together for another adventure.
Meledandri is the founder and CEO of Illumination, the studio behind family movie franchises like Despicable Me, Sing, and The Secret Life of Pets. He’s also behind the upcoming Super Mario movie, but once that is out of the way it sounds like Meledandri has plans to breathe life into another behemoth of the cartoon character world.
“It’s not that dissimilar to the process that we went through with Mario, where you look at what the core elements are that audiences have loved, and you do your very best to honour those core elements,” Meledandri said. “And then you’re hard at work to build story elements and new characters that take you to brand new places. The original cast is a huge part of that.”
While nothing is confirmed regarding the likes of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, and Cameron Diaz reprising their voice roles from the original 2000s movies, Meldandri added: “We anticipate the cast coming back. Talks are starting now, and every indication that we’ve gotten is there’s tremendous enthusiasm on behalf of the actors to return.”
Well that is all very exciting and we can’t wait to go back to the swamp once more.
For more, check out our feature on what Puss in Boots The Last Wish taught us about anxiety, or dive into the Super Mario movie cast. Alternatively, explore our list of the very best movies of all time.