The latest installment of the popular American computer-animated comedy film series was released in 2010. It's been almost a decade, but long-time fans of the animated movie are still wondering if the fifth installment is still happening. While Shrek 5 has been confirmed, there were only a few details about it.
Back in 2016, NBCUniversal Chief Steve Burke confirmed they would bring a new life to the franchise since they already acquired DreamWorks Animations. Since then, there were a lot of expectations to Shrek 5, with some suggesting it would be different from the previous movies of the franchise since it will be a reboot.
Chris Meledandri, the producer of Despicable Me and Minions, will take charge of all the animated movies, as per Burke. Reportedly, Meledandri's creativity could resurrect Shrek and other DreamWorks franchises, and their main goal is to maximize the revenue by making popular characters.
At that time of the announcement in 2016, some believed Shrek 5 would be released in 2019. In fact, Eddie Murphy, who voices Donkey, said back then that the script was done and the fifth installment will be out sometime in 2019 or 2020.
But, right now, the release date of Shrek 5 is hard to predict since details about it remain scarce at the moment. Some reports, however, suggested the fifth installment will not premiere before 2022. Thus, we can expect the movie to be out beyond that said year.
As for the cast, Murphy will possibly be back as Donkey. Mike Myers and Cameron Diaz are also expected to reprise their roles as Shrek and Fiona, respectively. There's no confirmation from other cast members, though some believe there will be casting chances as NBC tries to revive the franchise.
Also, Justin Timberlake might be coming back as Arthur "Artie" Pendragon in the upcoming Shrek 5. The actor first joined Dreamworks franchise in Shrek The Third, and his character Artie is one of the possible heirs to the fictional kingdom of Far Far Away.
Meanwhile, the plot of Shrek 5 is also unknown for now as there were no official updates on what would be the story of the upcoming movie. However, some reports suggested the fifth installment could include information on why the titular character ended up living in the swamp and could also reveal his true origin.
Other theories claimed Shrek and Fiona will be dealing with their teenaged children, and they will need the help of Donkey and Puss In Boots. The family might also return to Far Far Away to ask Artie's help, which is a good point to bring back Timberlake's character. However, all of these are just theories as there were no official updates about the storyline of Shrek 5.
