'Shrek 5' Teaser Reveals Timeskip That Brings Zendaya Aboard

I said yep, what a concept. So she said what’s the problem baby?

The world has been rolled again, and something has changed within it. Back in July when Shrek 5 was announced by DreamWorks Animation, it was teased with a 5 with Shrek’s ears. It was Thursday when Universal Pictures released the first teaser that gave people their first fully-produced look at the beloved ogre in just about 15 years.

Lasting about 30 seconds, it starts with Shrek and Donkey scrolling the magic mirror like it’s TikTok. And they are repulsed by what they’ve found by scrolling even with Shrek the fairest of them all. But they’re looking quite different than how we know them. An unfamiliar-looking female ogre spots it too calling out “Ew dad!”. That’s right, Shrek’s daughter, the only girl in his triplets born in Shrek the Third is not only of an age where she can talk, but she’s now seemingly teenaged. Which means everyone is significantly older If continuity is respected, she should still be named Felicia. While Fiona liked what she saw, it turns out the algorithm was steered by Pinocchio to his own denial. The magic mirror reiterates the returns of Mike Myers as Shrek, Cameron Diaz as Fiona, and Eddie Murphy as Donkey, but it’s Zendaya who’s voicing Felicia.

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This makes the end of the year a bit busy for one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, as she has Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey and the fourth Spider-Man movie two weeks apart from each other in July 2026, as well as the long-awaited third season of the HBO series Euphoria. What stage of development might Dune: Messsiah be during all of this? Who knows but The Hollywood Reporter might be a little optimistic saying it’ll be ready to release next year, or at least that’s implied by the other three being release-aimed.

A major factor in the rounder, more polished designs is DreamWorks' adoption of open-source rendering engine MoonRay, first used for 2019's How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, which inherently meant a pivot away from how things were done in the ten years since Forever After or the 20 of the original film (by production timeline, of course). MoonRay is said to enable more physically accurate lighting, smoother textures, and refined character features, thus the subtle changes in Shrek's ears, mouth, and nose. Even Donkey seems to have gotten a little haircut in his older age.

Shrek 5 is currently set for a December 23, 2026, release, with franchise veterans Walt Dohrn and Conrad Vernon directing, along with Minions: The Rise of Gru co-director Brad Ableson. Dohrn was a writer on Shrek 2 and Shrek the Third, and as head of story on Shrek Forever After, where he voiced Rumplestilskin. Vernon directed Shrek 2, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa and voices the Gingerbread Man affectionately nicknamed Gingy. Shrek Forever After producer Gina Shay and Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri are producing.

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Sources: The Hollywood Reporter, The Direct