Now that Chris Meledandri has taken a cruise down Rainbow Road, his next stop is Far, Far Away. The Super Mario Bros. producer and Illumination CEO is eyeing Shrek 5 with original cast members Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, and Eddie Murphy, as he explained in a recent interview with Variety.
“We anticipate the cast coming back,” Meledandri said of the proper follow-up to 2010’s Shrek Forever After. “Talks are starting now, and every indication that we’ve gotten is there’s tremendous enthusiasm on behalf of the actors to return.”
A fifth Shrek film has been in the works since at least 2016, when DreamWorks parent company NBCUniversal first announced they were aiming for a 2019 release date. Despite years in delay, the success of the 2022 spinoff Puss in Boots: The Last Wish proves the fairytale franchise is still quite lucrative. And although no deals have been inket yet, Meledandri seems optimistic about a cast reunion.
“It’s not that dissimilar to the process that we went through with Mario, where you look at what the core elements are that audiences have loved, and you do your very best to honor those core elements,” Meledandri said when asked about casting Shrek 5. “And then you’re hard at work to build story elements and new characters that take you to brand new places. The original cast is a huge part of that.”
He went on: “We anticipate the cast coming back. Talks are starting now, and every indication that we’ve gotten is there’s tremendous enthusiasm on behalf of the actors to return.”
Murphy, notably, has gone on the record to express interest in reprising his role of Donkey: “If [DreamWorks] ever came with another Shrek, I’d do it in two seconds.,” the actor said earlier this year. “I love Donkey. They did Puss in Boots movies. I was like, ‘They should have done a Donkey movie.’ Donkey is funnier than Puss in Boots. I mean, I love Puss in Boots, but he ain’t funny as the Donkey.”
The Super Mario Bros. Movie premieres in theaters tomorrow, April 5th.
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