It’s official: the loving, angry and kind of gross green ogre is back after almost 13 years. Previously, the fifth Shrek movie was rumored to be released in 2016, 2019 and even at the end of this year. But alas, we finally have some news! After years of speculation, “Shrek 5” is set to release on May 20, 2023. Here’s what we know about the movie so far.
We were left off with “Shrek Forever After” (2010), and the ending was a happy one. The land of Far Far Away was saved from Rumplestiltskin’s (Walt Dohrn) curse after he stripped Shrek (Mike Myers) of his memories as a father. After an extensive battle, Shrek was able to live happily ever after with his wife Fiona (Cameron Diaz) and baby triplets, Farkle, Fergus, and Felicia. As of now, nobody is sure what the exact plot of “Shrek 5” is, but there is speculation it could have an entirely new plot as a “reboot” for the franchise, according to DevDiscourse. This will most likely consist of Fiona and Shrek’s hectic lives as they raise their teenagers rather than picking up where the last movie left off. It’s also super exciting news that Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Shrek will still have a strong bromance, as it was reported that they are set up to have many more adventures in the fifth movie.
Screenwriter Michael McCullers of “Boss Baby” and “Austin Powers in Goldmember” has been chosen to write for “Shrek 5.” The great news is he plans on keeping all of the characters the same as well as the voicing actors. He even brought up the possibility of bringing Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow) back, despite being eaten by Dragon in the fourth movie. It’s not certain how he was able to come back from such an obvious death, but I’m excited to see what they come up with. According to DevDiscourse and other outlets, Shrek and Fiona will even be educated on modern technology such as smartphones since they are now dealing with teen ogres, so it seems as though there will be a modern twist that has adapted to today’s time. I personally hope that it is set years later than “Shrek Forever After,” because all of the original “Shrek” (2001) fans are in their late teens and early twenties and will be happy to see their triplets have grown as well.
CEO of NBCUniversal Steve Burke said the main goal of reviving the franchise is to “maximize revenues by creating popular characters which can be licensed out for lucrative spin-off merchandise and theme park attractions.” So not only will we benefit from a new movie, but maybe some new theme and amusement park attractions and revival of Shrek merch. This is good (and lucrative) news for NBCUniversal, but even better news for us because we finally get new Shrek content.
Even though there isn’t much concrete evidence or a trailer to tell us what’s going to specifically happen in the plot of “Shrek 5,” a lot of good concepts are being thrown around (with some minor ones confirmed), and we are just months away from Shrek’s return.
“Shrek 5” will be in theaters May 20, 2023.
By Amena Ahmed