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Why this ‘Puss in Boots 2’ Easter egg is great news for ‘Shrek’ fans

Is ‘Shrek 5’ finally on its way?

Phil de Semlyen
Written by
Phil de Semlyen
Global film editor
Shrek 2
Photograph: DreamWorks Animation
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Warning: contains spoilers for Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

Shrek fans have been waiting for news of a fifth Shrek movie since Shrek Forever After landed back in 2010 – and it may finally have come, via a pre-credits sting at the end of Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.

The movie ends with three of its characters sailing off, not into the sunset, but towards a landmass signposted ‘Far Far Away’. That’s the home, of course, of Shrek, Princess Fiona and Donkey, and the setting of all four Shrek movies to date.

Hollywood loves a sequel-baiting outro – Marvel has built an entire storytelling dynasty on them – but how much can be read into this DreamWorks tease?

Plenty, judging by Puss in Boots star Antonio Banderas’s recent comments on the likelihood of a fifth Shrek outing. ‘There is probably gonna be another,’ he told the Red Sea Film Festival (via Deadline) in December, ‘and [Shrek] is probably coming back.’

Shrek the Third
Photograph: DreamWorks AnimationFriends reunited? Shrek and Puss In Boots in ‘Shrek The Third’

The idea of a fifth Shrek film has been floating around since 2004 when then-producer Jeffrey Katzenberg revealed that there was a five-film story outline in place for the franchise. Shrek 5 was scheduled for a 2019 release date, with Eddie Murphy, who voices Donkey, claiming that a script was in existence.

Since then, though, there’s been little further news of a further entry to a franchise that has grossed nearly $3 billion in total. Does the ending of Puss in Boots: The Last Wish mean that it’s all on again? 

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is out in the UK on Friday, February 3.

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