Despite Shrek Forever After seeming to put a cap on the ogre's fairy tale-spoofing stories, you knew DreamWorks Animation would one day return to the well for a new film. And now, with the company in the process of being acquired by Universal, the fifth film in the successful series has reportedly been handed a 2019 release date.
According to The Hollywood Reporter's sources, the film will be joined that year by Shadows, which Edgar Wright plucked from development hell and has been working on alongside David Walliams. The film may not still have that title by the time it reaches screens, but we do know it's a re-working of a project the company had been trying to crack called Me And My Shadow, in which a frustrated shadow wants to be free of his life with Stanley Grubb, the world's most boring human. Quite what Wright and Walliams have done to the story remains to be seen.
As for Shrek, no details have been offered, but you have to wonder whether the character will be able to branch out into other genres besides fantasy to keep things fresh.
It's all part of DWA's plan to have two movies come out a year, with Illumination boss Chris Meledandri (who has brought Universal a lot of success with the Minions and more) still deciding how much of a role he wants to play in the future of the new company.