Shrek the ogre, the internet’s favorite character—based on all the horrible memes and animations I’ve seen—will return in a new sequel next year. And this time around, Zendaya is joining the cast as Shrek’s daughter in the upcoming Shrek 5.
On February 27, Dreamworks Animation and Universal released a short teaser featuring the cast of the upcoming Shrek 5. The teaser is our first real look at Shrek, Fiona, their teenage daughter, and Donkey, since the long-awaited animated sequel was teased back in July 2024. (It was originally planned to arrive in July 2026 but has been pushed back to December.)
Here’s the new short cast teaser which confirms that Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, and Eddie Murphy are back as Shrek, Fiona, and Donkey respectively.
The big news from this teaser, as first reported by The Hollywood Reporter, is that Zendaya (Dune, Spider-Man) is joining the Shrek universe and will play the titular ogre’s daughter. No, Zendaya isn’t Meechee, but I assume her new character has a silly name we can turn into a song, too. Sadly, her character’s name is yet to be revealed.
My Shrek lore is a little rusty, but I believe Shrek had three kids in Forever After—released in 2010. So what happened to the other two? Will they be voiced by equally famous young actors? Or was there a terrible swamp accident and Zendaya’s character is the sole survivor all these years later? Truly, I can’t wait to find out.
This is the first Shrek movie since 2010’s Shrek Forever After and it will arrive just over 25 years after the first movie, which launched the mega successful franchise back in 2001.
And because it’s 2025, of course this short teaser includes a direct reference to the various Shrek memes and bizarre fan creations that have been floating around the internet for over a decade now. I can only imagine how much of this crap is going to be included in Shrek 5 when it arrives in theaters on December 23, 2026.
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