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The Shrek franchise is probably one of the most successful to come out of DreamWorks, but the last good installment is admittedly Shrek 2 from 2004. Now the franchise is looking to reinvent itself, and on the helm will be Illumination’s Chris Meledandri.
As per Variety, Meledandri will be overseeing the reboot of Shrek and Puss in Boots. Though this is set to be a reboot, it’s worth noting that Meledandri is open to seeing the return of original voice actors Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Antonio Banderas. Medandri explains:
“When you look back on those vocal performances they’re awesome, and while you certainly could make a case for a complete reinvention, I find myself responding to my own nostalgic feelings of wanting to go back to those characterizations… The challenge for us has been to find something that really does feel like it’s not simply yet another film in a series of sequels.”
While I love the fact that Meledandri is looking to bring the original cast back for the reboot, I can’t help but feel that Illumination is going to make the franchise wholly for kids. The fun thing about the Shrek franchise was, despite it being marketed for kids, it was also incredibly enjoyable for adults. I just never felt the same appeal with Illumination’s Despicable Me, Minions, or The Secret Life of Pets.
Sure those movies made a lot of money, but do they have the same timeless feel of the Shrek films (the first two at least).
We don’t know when we’ll be seeing Shrek back in cinemas, but Illumination’s next project—The Grinch—is set for a release on Nov. 9.
