Is 'Shrek 5' Happening? Everything To Know About the DreamWorks Film

DreamWorks Animation's latest film, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, has given fans hope that the long-awaited Shrek 5 could be back on track.

Animated classic Shrek was released in 2001 and featured Mike Myers as the titular character, Eddie Murphy as his sidekick Donkey and Cameron Diaz as love interest Princess Fiona.

Shrek was a huge success and spawned 2004 sequel Shrek 2, 2007's Shrek the Third and 2010's Shrek Forever After.

At one point in time, the franchise, about a grumpy ogre and his fairytale friends, was supposed to have five films but news about a Shrek 5 has been pretty quiet in recent years.

Now, following the release of Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, it has been hinted that the fifth installment of Shrek could soon be a reality.

Newsweek has everything you need to know about Shrek 5.

Is Shrek 5 Happening?

Shrek 5 has already had a very complicated journey to the screen but it is thought that, yes, the film is happening.

In May 2004, producer Jeffrey Katzenberg revealed that the Shrek story would span over five films but in 2009, DreamWorks announced that the fourth film, Shrek Forever After, would be the last in the series.

Bill Damaschke, head of creative production at DreamWorks, said at the time: "All that was loved about Shrek in the first film is brought to the final film," and in May 2010, Josh Klausner, a writer on Shrek Forever After, said: "When I first came onto the project, it wasn't supposed to be the final chapter—there were originally going to be five Shrek movies. Then, about a year into the development, Jeffrey Katzenberg decided that the story that we'd come up with was the right way for Shrek's journey to end."

Then in February 2014, Katzenberg hinted that a fifth film still may be made. "We like to let [the characters] have a little bit of time to rest. But I think you can be confident that we'll have another chapter in the Shrek series. We're not finished and, more importantly, neither is he," he told Variety.

In June 2016, DreamWorks was purchased by NBCUniversal, and president and CEO Steve Burke revealed plans to revive the Shrek franchise, with The Hollywood Reporter reporting that the fifth film was planned for a 2019 release.

In September 2016, star Eddie Murphy told CinemaBlend that the film would be released in 2019 or 2020, and that he had read a completed script. When asked about the script in March 2017, screenwriter Michael McCullers confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that he had finished the story and teased that it featured "a pretty big reinvention."

Since 2017, however, news about Shrek 5 has been scarce, but now Puss in Boots: The Last Wish has given fans hope that it's on the way.

How Does Puss in Boots: The Last Wish Set Up Shrek 5?

While doing press for the latest Shrek spinoff Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, actor Antonio Banderas appeared to confirm the fifth Shrek movie is still in the works.

Banderas has voiced Puss in Boots since the character joined the second Shrek film and starred in the character's first spinoff film back in 2011.

Speaking to Deadline ahead of the second standalone Puss in Boots movie, which was released on December 21, 2022, the actor said: "I've been with this cat for almost 20 years.

"The first time I did Puss in Boots, I was working on broadway, so I did my first session there. I've done five movies now. There is probably gonna be another, and Shrek is probably coming back."

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, which was released 11 years after the first Puss in Boots movie, seems to set up a fifth Shrek film with its ending.

At the end of the film Puss in Boots, Kitty Softpaws (voiced by Salma Hayek) and Perrito (voiced by Harvey Guillén) steal a ship and sail back to Far Far Away.

As Shrek fans know, Far Far Away is the land where Shrek, Princess Fiona and their friends and family live, leading many fans to believe that the fact Puss in Boots is headed there means he is set to reunite with Shrek and the rest of the gang.

When Is Shrek 5 Coming Out?

There is yet to be any date confirmed for Shrek 5 by DreamWorks.

Newsweek has contacted DreamWorks for comment.

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is out in theaters now.