Shrek 5

About

Shrek 5 is the placeholder name for a potential fifth film in the Shrek franchise. As Shrek became the subject of ironic memes in the decade since the release of the fourth film in the series, 2010's Shrek Forever After, many online expressed hope via text posts, memes and other mediums that Dreamworks would make a fifth Shrek film. Producers of the Shrek franchise have also long indicated that they envisioned five Shrek films. In early April 2023, Illumination CEO and Dreamworks creative partner Chris Meledandri stated that a fifth Shrek film was in the early stages of development, with original voice actors Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz and Eddie Murphy showing "tremendous enthusiasm" to make another Shrek film. The announcement was quickly met with significant excitement across social media. In November 2025, a rumor that the film may release in 2025 went viral.

History

Talks of a fifth Shrek film started in 2004, when Dreamworks executive Jeffrey Katzenberg discussed a roadmap for the franchise ahead of the release of Shrek 2. ^[1] At the 2004 edition of the Cannes Film Festival, Katzenberg said, "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. There is a reason he came to be there, but there is another chapter to the story before that."

Kaztenberg's attitude later changed, as screenwriters for Forever After (the fourth movie in the series) reported that the script for the film evolved to be a conclusion for Shrek's story.^[2] However, over the course of the 2010s, Katzenberg continually hinted that there may yet be another film in the Shrek franchise. In 2016, The Hollywood Reporter^[3] reported that Dreamworks was looking at a 2019 release date for Shrek 5. Eddie Murphy later confirmed that the project was looking at a 2019 release.^[2]

In 2018, Variety^[4] reported that Chris Meledandri was tasked with reviving Shrek and Puss in Boots, the latter of which became 2022's Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.

April 2023 Announcement

On April 4th, 2023, Melendandri told Variety^[5] that Shrek 5 was in the early stages of development and that the original cast had shown "tremendous enthusiasm" for returning to the franchise. He also teased that the character Donkey could get a spinoff film.

2025 Release Rumor

On November 8th, 2023, film news X account @DiscussingNews reported on a rumor that the film is scheduled for release in 2025. The rumor originated from a LinkedIn profile of an intern at NBCUniversal Peacock who included Shrek 5, together with a 2025 release date, in the list of the projects she had worked upon.

July 2026 Release Announcement

On July 9th, 2024, Shrek's official X^[10] account announced the Shrek 5 sequel to premiere on July 1st, 2026. The post (seen below) was accompanied by a teaser featuring a 5 shaped-like Shrek captioned "Not too Far, Far Away… Shrek 5 is coming to theaters on July 1, 2026 with Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, and Cameron Diaz." The clip amassed over 120,000 views and 10,000 in minutes.

Online Presence

Following the 2016 news of the film's potential 2019 release, memes about Shrek 5 began appearing alongside other ironic Shrek memes. For example, on April 25th, 2017, Redditor SpaceLobsterFollower posted a Scared Patrick meme to /r/dankmemes^[6] about the film potentially getting delayed, gaining 29 points in six years (shown below, left). On May 12th, 2018, the Facebook page Papi Meme^[7] posted a deep fried meme about the film's potential 2019 release, gaining over 3,400 likes and reactions in roughly five years (shown below, right).

After 2019 passed with no development on Shrek 5, memers began adding the lack of Shrek 5 to jokes about other problems of the 2020s, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 13th, 2020, a deleted Reddit account posted a meme to /r/Shrek^[9] about the lack of Shrek 5, gaining over 1,600 points in three years (shown below, left). On December 13th, 2020, Redditor HearWhissper posted a joke to /r/MemeEconomy^[8] depicting "No Shrek 5" as the worst problem of 2021, gaining over 7,500 points in a similar timeframe (shown below, right).

Search Interest

External References