Zendaya Joins Shrek Royalty: Inside the Franchise’s Flashiest Family Feud Yet

Olivia Bennett, 11/28/2025Shrek 5 is set to hit theaters on June 30, 2027, featuring new characters voiced by Zendaya, Marcello Hernández, and Skyler Gisondo, alongside returning favorites. This sequel promises a blend of nostalgia and fresh humor, ready to captivate both new fans and longtime followers of the franchise.

So, DreamWorks presses on. Shrek 5 is officially barreling into cinemas June 30, 2027, ready to serve another helping of irreverence, sight gags, and onion metaphors that refuse to spoil. The studio could’ve coasted on nostalgia, but instead, they’ve lobbed a rather spicy curveball into the generational casserole. Enter Marcello Hernández, SNL’s upstart whose charisma is fresher than a mint julep in July, and Skyler Gisondo, the multitasking Gen Z darling who’s racked up credits in “Superman,” “Licorice Pizza,” and pretty much every sharp-witted ensemble not currently streaming on Apple TV+. Casting the duo as Shrek and Fiona’s sons—Fergus and Farkle, respectively—feels cheekily on-brand; a name like “Farkle” seems destined for meme infamy or a therapy breakout session (possibly both).

The returning ensemble is reassuring, like slipping into last season’s butlered velvet—Myers, Murphy, and Diaz. Each trademark performance preserved, as familiar as a family photo, updated with digital retouching and a couple of judicious command performances. Murphy’s Donkey, in particular, never fails to inject the proceedings with caffeine—and Diaz’s Fiona? Reliable as ever, her comedic timing aged to perfection.

But here’s where 2025’s Hollywood machinery really flexes: Zendaya arrives, luminous and internet-melting, voicing Shrek’s daughter Felicia. Not merely a casting coup—this is the strategic deployment of an icon, that elusive “multivitamin” of pop appeal. Expect TikTok apoplexy and at least one seductively enigmatic press junket outfit to inspire knockoffs on Melrose before summer’s end.

Behind the digital curtain, the creative engine hums with veteran bravado. Conrad Vernon and Walt Dohrn, both seasoned in the Shrek stable (and, lest anyone forget, “Madagascar 2”—a fever dream of its own), orchestrate the comeback. Gina Shay and animation baron Chris Meledandri produce; their fingerprints, visible on everything from “Trolls” to the chameleonic “Despicable Me,” hint that no beat of audience expectation will go un-milked or unmocked. Brad Ableson—of “Minions: The Rise of Gru”—joins as co-director, so don’t be too surprised if a few banana jokes sneak across the border.

Meanwhile, the Shrek metaverse sprawls ever onward. Theme parks. Merchandise that dominates souvenir stalls worldwide. Live shows, immersive tourist traps—London’s a likely hotspot soon, if the press releases have it right. Somewhere, a child is almost certainly posing, arms wide, with an adult in ogre-green foam. That durable branding, equal parts satire and sweetness, is no accident.

Representation details are there, too, somewhat buried beneath the green grime: Hernández and Gisondo have their formidable teams—CAA and UTA, respectively—ensuring the talent’s pipeline is both lucrative and protected. The business of Shrek, in other words, gleams almost as much as the jokes.

So, what does Shrek 5 promise, beneath all the glitter and the ogre sweat? A dance between sincerity and satire, with a script likely to layer fresh pop culture daggers between callbacks and winks to Instagram-era cheekiness. Internet memes, new quotables, gags pitched squarely toward the kids who watched the original from booster seats—and their digitally savvy progeny.

Could another sequel have been avoided? Maybe. But, then again, in a year when animation still leads the escapist charge (and nostalgia, frankly, outpaces Wall Street), a Shrek revival feels inevitable as the next celebrity rebrand or trend cycle revival. There is magic, after all, in a fairy tale unafraid to embrace the mud, the misfits, and the punchlines that have fueled a generation-plus of absurd, poignant storytelling.

Ready or not, the green tide’s on its way. Come 2027, just try finding a corner of pop culture that remains unbothered or unbranded. Odds are, even Farquaad would be impressed.

Let’s face it—some legends never truly vanish, they just re-emerge, greener and glossier than before. Shrek, that swamp-dwelling anti-prince, once again claims a seat at pop culture’s unruly banquet table, apparently intent on proving that lightning (or, in this case, a talking ogre) can strike as many times as the accountants allow. Three billion at the global box office. An Oscar snagged during the Bush years, the Broadway adaptation, theme parks as vast as Shrek’s own, well, girth—the résumé’s blushingly robust, nearly as over-the-top as Lord Farquaad’s hairdo.So, DreamWorks presses on. Shrek 5 is officially barreling into cinemas June 30, 2027, ready to serve another helping of irreverence, sight gags, and onion metaphors that refuse to spoil. The studio could’ve coasted on nostalgia, but instead, they’ve lobbed a rather spicy curveball into the generational casserole. Enter Marcello Hernández, SNL’s upstart whose charisma is fresher than a mint julep in July, and Skyler Gisondo, the multitasking Gen Z darling who’s racked up credits in “Superman,” “Licorice Pizza,” and pretty much every sharp-witted ensemble not currently streaming on Apple TV+. Casting the duo as Shrek and Fiona’s sons—Fergus and Farkle, respectively—feels cheekily on-brand; a name like “Farkle” seems destined for meme infamy or a therapy breakout session (possibly both).The returning ensemble is reassuring, like slipping into last season’s butlered velvet—Myers, Murphy, and Diaz. Each trademark performance preserved, as familiar as a family photo, updated with digital retouching and a couple of judicious command performances. Murphy’s Donkey, in particular, never fails to inject the proceedings with caffeine—and Diaz’s Fiona? Reliable as ever, her comedic timing aged to perfection.But here’s where 2025’s Hollywood machinery really flexes: Zendaya arrives, luminous and internet-melting, voicing Shrek’s daughter Felicia. Not merely a casting coup—this is the strategic deployment of an icon, that elusive “multivitamin” of pop appeal. Expect TikTok apoplexy and at least one seductively enigmatic press junket outfit to inspire knockoffs on Melrose before summer’s end.Behind the digital curtain, the creative engine hums with veteran bravado. Conrad Vernon and Walt Dohrn, both seasoned in the Shrek stable (and, lest anyone forget, “Madagascar 2”—a fever dream of its own), orchestrate the comeback. Gina Shay and animation baron Chris Meledandri produce; their fingerprints, visible on everything from “Trolls” to the chameleonic “Despicable Me,” hint that no beat of audience expectation will go un-milked or unmocked. Brad Ableson—of “Minions: The Rise of Gru”—joins as co-director, so don’t be too surprised if a few banana jokes sneak across the border.Meanwhile, the Shrek metaverse sprawls ever onward. Theme parks. Merchandise that dominates souvenir stalls worldwide. Live shows, immersive tourist traps—London’s a likely hotspot soon, if the press releases have it right. Somewhere, a child is almost certainly posing, arms wide, with an adult in ogre-green foam. That durable branding, equal parts satire and sweetness, is no accident.Representation details are there, too, somewhat buried beneath the green grime: Hernández and Gisondo have their formidable teams—CAA and UTA, respectively—ensuring the talent’s pipeline is both lucrative and protected. The business of Shrek, in other words, gleams almost as much as the jokes.So, what does Shrek 5 promise, beneath all the glitter and the ogre sweat? A dance between sincerity and satire, with a script likely to layer fresh pop culture daggers between callbacks and winks to Instagram-era cheekiness. Internet memes, new quotables, gags pitched squarely toward the kids who watched the original from booster seats—and their digitally savvy progeny.Could another sequel have been avoided? Maybe. But, then again, in a year when animation still leads the escapist charge (and nostalgia, frankly, outpaces Wall Street), a Shrek revival feels inevitable as the next celebrity rebrand or trend cycle revival. There is magic, after all, in a fairy tale unafraid to embrace the mud, the misfits, and the punchlines that have fueled a generation-plus of absurd, poignant storytelling.Ready or not, the green tide’s on its way. Come 2027, just try finding a corner of pop culture that remains unbothered or unbranded. Odds are, even Farquaad would be impressed.