2024-07-10 15:20:01
Originally appeared on E! Online
Start peeling that onion, because we’re getting another layer of everyone’s favorite ogre.
“Shrek 5” is officially in the works, according to a July 9 press release from Dreamworks Animation and Universal Pictures, and is set to hit theaters on July 1, 2026, just in time for the 25th anniversary of the first Shrek film.
While plot details are still under wraps, the original trio will return, with Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz reprising their roles as Shrek, Donkey and Princess Fiona, respectively.
The original 2001 film followed Shrek as he set out on a quest with his noble steed — Donkey — to rescue Princess Fiona from a tower guarded by a dragon. But the fairytale took a turn, when it was revealed that Fiona herself turned into an ogre after dark, an appearance she kept after she and Shrek fell in love.
Over the years, the story was expanded in followup films: 2004’s “Shrek 2,” 2007’s “Shrek the Third” and the last entry in the franchise, 2010’s “Shrek Forever After.”
And while fans are no doubt excited about revisiting Far, Far Away once again after 13 years, Myers himself has talked about how much making the films was an incredible part of his life — especially when it came to the unique storyline.
“I love the idea of taking a fairytale and turning it on its head,” he told GQ in 2022, “and having it be that all the traditional bad guys are good guys, and all the traditional good guys are bad guys.”
He continued, “And I realized it’s a dramatic role. I mean halfway through I went, ‘There’s an emotional center here.'”
But more than anything, Shrek’s theme of acceptance is something he found he could relate to.
“You know the old joke, ‘I wouldn’t want to be a member of a club that would have me as a member.’ I have always felt that way,” he said. “The concept of going from a self-loathing ogre to a self-accepting ogre was meaningful to me.”
“I loved playing Shrek,” he added. “If I had to do one Shrek a year I’d be thrilled.”
So, while we wait for “Shrek 5,” grab some waffles and keep reading for all the behind-the-scenes secrets about the first movie.
(E! and Universal Pictures are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)
