'Shrek 5' Premiere Date, Update: Reinvention In Progress, Disaster Waiting to Happen?

The last film in the “Shrek” franchise came out almost a decade ago and it took almost six years before fans heard anything about a fifth film. Prior to that, it was generally assumed that the films had ended, but this would not be the case. An announcement by NBC Universal Chief Steve Burke in 2016 brought new life to the series. However, with themes of reinvention being thrown in, is “Shrek 5” going to suck?

As Business Times recently reported, the person who supposedly wrote “Shrek 5” was Michael McCullers. This is worth noting because he is the same writer behind such monstrosities as “Boss Baby.” Considering the widespread slamming that the film got, it’s not exactly encouraging to know that he will be handling the next “Shrek” movie.

It would appear that it’s all too late though, with writing actually already done back in 2016. The writer then gave an interview in 2017 where he noted that “Shrek 5” will feature a reinvention. It would seem that he considered the old materials to have passed their best-by dates after getting his hands on the project.

“I imagine they’re particularly interested in it stepping up and actually figuring out the future of the franchise in that way on the corporate level,” the writer explained. “Reinvention was sort of called for. There’s been four movies and a lot of material, so the characters are pretty beloved and they’re great characters, but you also have to think of a pretty new take at that point.”

As of now, the release window for “Shrek 5” is still in 2019. However, with three months of the year almost done already, the absence of any kind of teasers is not an encouraging sign. If a trailer is not released soon, the film’s premiere may be pushed back for at least another few months.