Get the latest OK! breaking news on WhatsAppOur community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More infoJoin us on WhatsApp Shrek and his family are returning to the big screen after 16 years, with none other than Zendaya lending her vocal talents to the animated franchise. A glimpse at the upcoming movie comes with a teaser trailer, where Donkey humorously questions the magic mirror about who is the fairest, leading to a comical reveal that Shrek holds the title — thanks to some cheeky image editing by Pinocchio. The trailer also gives us a peek at Shrek’s wife Fiona and their teenage daughter, voiced by Zendaya. The Challengers star, 28, couldn’t resist sharing a nostalgic tweet from 2017 saying, “I watch Shrek too often in my adulthood,” before adding the comment: “This aged well.” Zendaya joins the star-studded cast of Shrek veterans, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, and Mike Myers, who are reprising their iconic roles.
Hollywood actress Zendaya is to star in Shrek 5 alongside Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz
(Image: UniversalPictures/YouTube)
Mark your calendars for 23 December 2026 to catch the long-awaited sequel, celebrating 25 years since the original Shrek enchanted audiences worldwide. The Shrek saga, inspired by William Steig’s fairy tale picture book, became an instant classic with its release in 2001, followed by a trio of sequels and two Puss In Boots spin-offs, bringing Antonio Banderas’ swashbuckling feline to life. These films tell the tales of the gruff but lovable ogre Shrek on his rollicking adventures, including the unforgettable quest with his chatty companion Donkey to rescue a princess in the original installment, reports the Mirror. The films showcased a host of unforgettable fairytale characters, including Prince Charming (voiced by Rupert Everett), the Fairy Godmother (Jennifer Saunders), and Merlin (Eric Idle). Julie Andrews and John Cleese (as Fiona’s parents), and chat show star Jonathan Ross (as Ugly Sister Doris) also lent their voices.
Zendaya appears to have taken on the role of Shrek’s daughter in the popular film franchise
Back in 2004, Jeffrey Katzenberg, then head of DreamWorks, spilled that five Shrek movies had always been on the cards. He revealed to IGN: “Shrek 3 and 4 are going to reveal other unanswered questions and, finally, in the last chapter, we will understand how Shrek came to be in that swamp, when we meet him in the first movie. There is a reason he came to be there, but there is another chapter to the story before that.” However, when Shrek Forever After hit screens in 2010, the filmmakers dubbed the fourth movie the ‘final’ film, with creative production head Bill Damaschke telling USA Today: “All that was loved about Shrek in the first film is brought to the final film.” Last June, Eddie Murphy let slip that the Shrek saga wasn’t over and a fifth film was in the pipeline. Chatting with Collider, he said: “Shrek is coming out, and Donkey’s gonna have his own movie. We’re gonna do Donkey as well. So we’re gonna do a Shrek, and we’re doing a Donkey [movie].”
