The fifth "Shrek" movie is currently under development, with its screenwriter describing this as the "reinvention" of the film franchise.
Michael McCullers revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that he recently finished the script for "Shrek 5." He said that the move toward reinventing the series came as the aftermath of Dreamworks being sold to Universal in 2016, with the latter expressing their interest in pushing the story forward. This indicates that the fifth movie may not be the last in the series.
This will be the first "Shrek" film under Universal. The last film, "Shrek Forever After," was released in 2010.
While he said that he could not talk about what will be changed in the film series, he indicated that there may be some differences in how the characters will be presented in the fifth movie. "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," McCullers said.
There may be two directions that the fifth "Shrek" film can take, based on the writer's words. The first would be a spin-off of the series, which may feature the next generation of characters, such as the triplets of Shrek and Fiona or even the children of Donkey and the dragon. Another option would be a film reboot, which is also likely given McMullers' line about having a new take on the characters. Either way, the new tone that will be introduced in the fifth film will be the springboard for the "Shrek" films that will be produced in the future.
No information has been revealed yet if the original cast members of "Shrek" — Mike Myers as Shrek, Cameron Diaz as Fiona, and Eddie Murphy as Donkey — will reprise their roles for the fifth film in the series. All three were part of the previous four movies.
The targeted schedule for the release of "Shrek 5" is in 2019.
