‘Despicable Me’ Creator Rebooting ‘Shrek’ Franchise

It looks like the Shrek movie series is already getting the revival treatment as Universal Pictures wants more of the big green ogre and his pals.

According to Variety, Despicable Me creator Chris Meledandri has been tasked with bringing new life to the Shrek franchise, which just ended back in 2010. The report also states that one of the main objectives of the revival will be to reinvigorate the story of Puss ‘n’ Boots as well.

While the stories might be new, Meledandri reportedly doesn’t want to change the voice cast. He believes that part of the magic of Shrek comes from the talents of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, and Antonio Banderas, and he’d like to keep them together going forward.

“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,” Meledandri said. “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.”

This move to revive the franchise comes after Comcast bought DreamWorks for $3.8 billion back in 2016, putting the studio under the same umbrella as Meledandri’s Illumination, which gave birth to Despicable Me and The Secret Life of Pets. Meledandri was initially asked to oversee both Illumination and DreamWorks, but passed on the opportunity to run the latter in favor of focusing on the creative movie-making process.

“The way in which I work with my team to make movies is very intensive and hands-on, and it really doesn’t allow me the opportunity to think about running a second operation,” he said. “I love the process of making films and working with artists. I don’t think I’m particularly great at managing companies.”

At this point, Meledandri hasn’t yet found the best story for the Shrek revival, but he sounds confident that it will be back in the spotlight sooner rather than later.

“There’s a tremendous amount of fun to be had in that world, but it’s a high bar to find a story that’s truly world,” Meledandri said. “You want to find something in the narrative that really feels like a departure.”

What do you think about the Shrek reboot? Let us know in the comments!

Illumination’s next movie, The Grinch, is set to hit theaters on Friday.