Shrek 5 ‘in the works’ with original cast to return

Shrek 5 is reportedly ‘in the works’ and could return with the original cast members.

Officials at DreamWorks are reportedly amid plans for Shrek 5 and ‘in talks’ with the original cast members. It’s been a long 13 years without our beloved green monster so to hear it’s back on the cards is fantastic news for Shrek fans.

Although Shrek 5 was first confirmed back in April 2017 after screenwriter Michael McCullers made the announcement, there hasn’t been another peep about a new movie since…until now. Thankfully, it seems no news is good news, with Illumination Entertainment founder and CEO Chris Meledandri having revealed what fans should expect from its cast of characters.

Meledandri, who compared Shrek 5 to the much-anticipated release of the Super Mario film, said: “[If you look at] what the core elements are that audiences have loved [about a franchise], do your very best to honour those core elements.

“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. 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.”

Earlier this year, Eddie Murphy expressed his desire to return as the voice of Donkey for Shrek 5, and maybe even a Donkey spin-off movie.

In a new interview with ETalk, Eddie was asked if he would ever consider playing Donkey again. “I’d absolutely be open. If they ever came with another Shrek, I’d do it in two seconds. I love Donkey,” he said.

Last year, Mike Myers told GQ: “If I had to do one Shrek a year I’d be thrilled.” And, Antonio Banderas, who voices Puss in Boots, also recently told Deadline that he’s down for Shrek 5 too. “I’ve done five movies now. There is probably gonna be another, and [Shrek] is probably coming back,” he said.

However, while the same cast could possibly be returning to the fifth instalment of the franchise, it doesn’t mean there won’t be any reinventions to the Shrek we know and love.

When confirming Shrek 5 was in the works in 2017, screenwriter Michael McCullers told The Hollywood Reporter: “Shrek 5 is being developed. I finished that script, which I really, really, really love. It’s really personal to me.

“It’s got a pretty big reinvention behind it that I guess I can’t reveal. Since DreamWorks was sold to Universal in that time for over $3 billion [£2.4bn], I imagine they’re particularly interested in it stepping up, and actually figuring out the future of the franchise in that way on the corporate level.”

He continued: “Reinvention was sort of called for. There’s been four movies and a lot of material, so the characters are pretty beloved and they’re great characters, but you also have to think of a pretty new take at that point.”

Shrek 5 has not yet been given an expected or official release date at the time of publication. Watch this space!