Zendaya to star in 'Shrek 5' as Shrek's daughter
Zendaya has been cast in Shrek 5 as one of the franchise's first new performers.
The in-demand performer, who appeared in Luca Guadagnino's Challengers and Dune: Part Two last year, is now filming Euphoria and has already signed on to Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey and Spider-Man 4.
The 28-year-old will now appear in the fifth episode of the Shrek franchise alongside Eddie Murphy, Mike Myers, and Cameron Diaz. Zendaya will bring a fresh perspective to the 25-year-old franchise as the daughter of Diaz's Fiona and Myers' Shrek.
Shrek, released in 2001, instantly achieved critical praise and won an Oscar. The film follows the titular ogre, who eventually falls for Fiona, the princess of Far Far Away, who is stuck in an ogre's body due to a curse.
The film, starring Murphy as Donkey, became an instant success due to its emphasis on love, an odd friendship between an ogre and a donkey, and its take on popular fairy tales such as The Gingerbread Man and Robin Hood.
When asked if he would be willing to voice his favorite character in a fifth installment, Murphy has stated that he was "absolutely open."
"If they ever came up with another Shrek, I'd do it in two seconds," he remarked during an Etalk interview in 2023. "I love Donkey."
He also questioned why his character never received a spinoff in the franchise, such as Puss in Boots starring Antonio Banderas, which, thanks to two features, helped drive Shrek to the second-biggest film in animation history, grossing $2.9 billion worldwide.
"They're doing Puss in Boots movies," Murphy added. "I was like, 'They should have made a Donkey movie. Donkey is funnier than Puss in Boots. I love Puss in Boots, but he's no funnier than Donkey."
Shrek 5, produced by DreamWorks Animation and Universal, will be directed by franchise veterans Walt Dohrn and Conrad Vernon, as well as Brad Ableson, who co-directed Minions: The Rise of Gru. The current film will be the first in the main series since Shrek Forever After, which was released in 2010.