DreamWorks Animation’s new Shrek 5 teaser trailer has stirred quite a storm on the internet. The brief clip confirms the return of the original voice cast: Mike Myers as Shrek, Cameron Diaz as Fiona, and Eddie Murphy as Donkey, as reported earlier. The biggest reveal, however, was Zendaya joining the franchise to voice Shrek and Fiona’s daughter.
The 27-seconds-long cast announcement video has ignited a fierce online debate, with fans grabbing their virtual pitchforks and torches, ready to skewer each other over their differing perspectives. The most controversial element appears to be the character designs.
Shrek and Donkey have been subtly altered to appear older, much to the dismay of traditionalists who preferred the classic designs. This change alone has given ammunition to the films’ skeptics, though its propenents have praised the design evolution as appropriate for the story’s progression.
Zendaya’s character has become another hot topic from the teaser. Given her meteoric rise in Hollywood, fans are speculating that she won’t play a background role to Mike Myers in Shrek 5.
Many see this as DreamWorks potentially shifting the spotlight to a new character, something we’ve seen with Cars 2 and Finding Dory. Obviously, fans aren’t too happy about this.
Throughout the franchise, Shrek has always been our main focus. We’ve watched him grow from a grumpy loner hiding in his swamp to a caring dad with a big heart. Some fans are worried about what this potential ‘passing of the torch’ might mean for the green guy they’ve grown to love.
Shrek 5‘s nitpickers have also pointed out the absence of Shrek and Fiona’s other children, given that the couple had triplets. In addition to this, Zendaya’s character having a different eye color than the original girl from the triplets has not escaped the critics’ gaze, adding fuel to the fiery debate.
Ultimately, all these concerns and speculations will be settled on Christmas 2026, when the film is scheduled to come to theaters. Till then, may the conspiracies, theories, and debates run wild.
