In a swampy twist that is sure to have fans of Shrek jumping for joy, Chris Meledandri — founder and CEO of animation studio Illumination — teased the return of the original cast for Shrek 5 as well as a Donkey spin-off film.
Sitting down with Variety to promote The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Meledandri revealed that DreamWorks Animation, where he serves as creative partner, is looking to reboot the Shrek franchise with Shrek 5, and is working hard to bring back the original voice cast of the iconic characters. This includes Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, and Eddie Murphy.
Meledandri is optimistic, saying, “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.”
Expanding on the idea, he shares, “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. 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.”
At least a couple members of the original cast are down to clown. “I would do a Donkey movie. I would do another Shrek in two seconds,” said Eddie Murphy, who voices Donkey in the Shrek franchise. “That’s Dreamworks Animation. They have to want to do it. Dreamworks, if you all want to do it, just call me. I’m ready, I’m sitting and ready to do Donkey.” Meanwhile, Mike Myers mentioned, “I loved playing Shrek. If I had to do one Shrek a year, I’d be thrilled.”
With the success of Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, more Shrek is certainly welcome news.
Edwin is a seasoned raconteur with a lifelong passion for video games, comic books, movies, and more. He thrives on captivating stories and immersive world-building, with a soft spot for adorable monsters.
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