“It’s Happening, It’s All Happening”: The Best Animated Franchise Is Back With a New Teaser Trailer

Cue up “All Star” by Smash Mouth, because we have a new look at the Shrek franchise. On Tuesday, Universal Pictures and DreamWorks Animation released the first teaser trailer for Shrek 5, ahead of its debut in theaters in the summer of 2027.

The footage for Shrek 5 opens with a story book retelling of Shrek and Donkey’s adventures, emulated in the same style as William Steig’s picture book that inspired the initial film. Then, we are treated to the new-ish character designs for Shrek (Mike Myers) and Donkey (Eddie Murphy), with Donkey even acknowledging that he can get new features as part of a “makeover.”

From there, we get new looks at the world of the movie, Gingy the gingerbread man making a joke about how he’s “caked up”, and a great joke at the expense of “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?”, the earworm from Disney’s absurdly successful Frozen franchise. The footage ends with Shrek, Donkey, and Fiona (Cameron Diaz) in jail, alongside their two sons Fergus and Farkle, voiced by Marcello Hernandez (Saturday Night Live, Happy Gilmore 2) and Skyler Gisondo (Superman, Booksmart).

The exact plot details surrounding Shrek 5 are currently under wraps, but DreamWorks describes the film as “a thrilling, magical new comedy adventure.” Emmy-winning superstar Zendaya (The Odyssey, Dune franchise) joins the cast as Shrek and Fiona’s daughter Felicia. Shrek 5 is directed by acclaimed filmmakers and Shrek franchise veterans Conrad Vernon and Walt Dohrn, and co-directed by Brad Ableson (Minions: The Rise of Gru, The Simpsons).

Why Did Shrek 5 Take So Long?

This teaser trailer comes after years and years of efforts to bring Shrek 5 to life. All the way back in 2004, Jeffrey Katzenberg confirmed that the narrative was planned for a five film arc, saying at the time to IGN that: “Before the first one was finished we talked about what the whole story of Shrek is, and each of the chapters answers questions about the first movie and gives us an insight. Shrek 3 and 4 are going to reveal other unanswered questions and, finally, in the fifth chapter, we will understand how Shrek came to be in that swamp, when we meet him in the first movie.”

Obviously, things evolved from there: the fourth film, Shrek Forever After, was retooled to be an end to the saga, but Katzenberg still hinted in 2014 that another film could be in the cards once the characters “rest” for a while. The film finally started to become a reality around 2023, at which point Myers, Murphy, Diaz, and Banderas were all in talks to return. Along the way, Shrek 5 has shifted its release date a handful of times. Most recently, it was initially scheduled to debut in theaters on December 23, 2026… which would have been an already-crowded landscape with the “Dunesday” double bill of Dune Part Three and Avengers: Doomsday, as well as the next Jumanji movie.

As mentioned above, Shrek 5 is set to be released exclusively in theaters on June 30, 2027.

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