It’s honestly hard to believe that the last “Shrek” feature film, “Shrek Forever After,” was released in 2010. It feels like the character just never left. Of course, we’ve had spinoffs, including the popular “Puss in Boots” franchise, but it’s been a minute since the mothership film series ended its run. Well, as you probably know by now, Hollywood studios aren’t happy with franchises gathering dust, so it’s time for a new “Shrek” film.
In an interview with Variety, Chris Meledandri, Illumination founder and CEO and also a creative partner at Dreamworks Animation, has gone on record saying that the latter studio is currently in the process of developing a fifth “Shrek” film. And while it’s still in the early stages of development, it looks like the studio thinks it’ll happen and the original cast is all looking to return.
“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 honor 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.”
He 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.”
To say that the “Shrek” franchise has been good business for Dreamworks Animation is an understatement. The first “Shrek,” released in 2001, earned nearly $500 million worldwide, which is sensational, especially when you consider the era it debuted. Each film did considerably better than the original—“Shrek 2” ($935m), “Shrek the Third” ($807m), and “Shrek Forever After” ($756m)—and cemented the film series as one of the most successful animated franchises of all time. Obviously, a fifth film would do incredibly well.
It’s still too soon to know when we might see the fifth film arrive in theaters. But if the whole cast returns, you can fully expect a fifth “Shrek” to dominate.
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