Shrek 5 was announced in 2016. For the last four years, there have been lots of speculations surrounding the fifth film. It was reportedly the final film in the Shrek franchise.
Journey Of Shrek 5 So Far
Back in May 2004, Jeffrey Katzenberg revealed something significant. The Shrek story had been outlined into five films almost from the beginning.
“Before the first one was finished we talked about what the whole story of Shrek is. And each of the chapters answers questions about the first movie and gives us an insight. Shrek 3 and 4 are going to reveal other unanswered questions and, finally, in the last chapter, we will understand how Shrek came to be in that swamp, when we meet him in the first movie.”
Additionally, in June 2007, Katzenberg announced that the fifth film would be released sometime in 2013.
Cancellation
While, in May 2009, DreamWorks Animation announced that the fourth film’s title would be Shrek Forever After. This indicated that it would be the last in the Shrek series. And in November 2009, that was confirmed by Bill Damaschke, head of creative production at DWA, with him saying:
“All that was loved about Shrek in the first film is brought to the final film.”
In May 2010, Josh Klausner, one of the writers of Shrek Forever After, explained in 2010 the script’s evolution:
“When I first came onto the project, it wasn’t supposed to be the final chapter — there were originally going to be five Shrek movies. Then, about a year into the development, Jeffrey Katzenberg decided that the story that we’d come up with was the right way for Shrek’s journey to end.”
"when covid is over" starting to sound like "when dreamwork releases Shrek 5"
— heidi montag (@heidimontag_) January 25, 2021
Re-Development Of Shrek 5
Then in February 2014, Katzenberg appeared in an interview with Fox Business Network. There he hinted that a fifth film still may be made, saying,
“We like to let [the characters] have a little bit of time to rest. But I think you can be confident that we’ll have another chapter in the Shrek series. We’re not finished and, more importantly, neither is he.”
Also, in June 2016, after NBCUniversal purchased DreamWorks Animation for $3.8 billion, NBCUniversal’s president and chief executive officer Steve Burke discussed plans to revive the franchise, as well as other DreamWorks films. In July 2016, The Hollywood Reporter cited sources saying that a fifth film was planned for a 2019 release.
Pre-Production
Meanwhile, in September 2016, Eddie Murphy confirmed that the film was expected to be released in 2019 or 2020, and that the script had been completed. Following which, in October 2016, Mike Mitchell stated that Austin Powers screenwriter Michael McCullers had written a script based on his own original idea. And then, in March 2017, when asked about the script, McCullers said it featured “a pretty big reinvention” for the film series.
Possible Revival
Eventually, in November 2018, it was reported by Variety that Illumination’s CEO and founder Chris Meledandri had been tasked by Universal Pictures to revive both the Shrek and Puss in Boots film series, with the original cast potentially returning.
Source: www.dreamworks.fandom.com
