Shaheer Ahmed
Remakes of beloved childhood movies are making this the year of reminiscence. Following the announcement of a Harry Potter television series, the Shrek movie series’ creators have announced that Shrek, Princess Fiona, Donkey, and the kingdom of Far Far Away will return to theaters – hopefully with the same cast this time!
Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri revealed that he and DreamWorks Animation plan to revive the Shrek series and create Shrek 5 with original voice actors Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, and Eddie Murphy in an interview with Variety about the forthcoming animated film The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
“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 told the outlet. “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.”
Meledandri, however, added that none of the series’ three main stars have signed on for a new Shrek movie yet, but negotiations are underway.
Murphy, who plays Donkey in the iconic franchise, in an interview with Etalk in January said that he would reprise his role “in two seconds.” When asked about those comments, Meledandri told Variety that Murphy’s interest in returning shows “his strong enthusiasm for a role that he so brilliantly inhabited and really created alongside the artists at DreamWorks.”
The project is still in its early stages, but Variety previously reported in 2018 that Universal Pictures had chosen Meledandri to oversee upcoming Shrek projects. There isn’t yet a set date for the possible Shrek 5 publication.
