‘Shrek 5’ Brings in Young Cast Members To Reflect Its Passionate Fan Base

The Shrek films are unassailable for anyone under 30. It’s wild to behold. I got to work with a bunch of cool, young filmmakers this summer, and 90 percent of them listed the film as a seminal piece of fiction in their lives. It’s not that I didn’t like the first film, but it didn’t strike me as anything particularly special. Just a silly movie that spawned a bunch of sequels. But the young folks love it. Passionately. And now two of their ilk will be joining the newest film in the franchise.

I don’t remember the first time I saw Skyler Gisondo, but it was likely Rob Zombie’s Halloween. That film is abhorrent, but I’ve seen it twice. That said, I haven’t seen it since I really discovered the young actor in Righteous Gemstones, which he was phenomenal in. He was also wonderful in James Gunn’s Superman, and I’m beyond hyped to see his Jimmy Olsen true crime show that was recently announced. Now, adding to his already busy schedule, Gisondo will be voicing one of Shrek and Fiona’s sons.

The Book Smart actor will be joined by Zendaya, who will play one of Shrek and Fiona’s daughters, and SNL star and fellow young person Marcello Hernandez, in Shrek 5. Zendaya and Gisondo were born in 1996, Hernandez in 97, and I genuinely wonder if they’re all through-the-roof excited to be a part of this franchise. There’s a very good chance that one of the four original films served as their babysitter at one point or another.

This will be one of those movies that I think will destroy at the box office. By the time it releases, all of its young fans will be closer to their 30s (if not already over that dreaded hill). They’ll have disposable incomes that they are ready to spend. It will be an event that will take over TikTok or whatever service they’ll be using at that time. WoozWuzz, maybe?

Shrek 5 hits theaters in 2027, a whole 17 years after the previous film. The fan base has clearly remained, but it may also have doubled by then, and I just don’t know how. I’m not mad at it, nor do I feel left out, I’m just fascinated back it. How did this green ogre take such a hold? What about Donkey makes him irresistible? Rumpelstiltskin was in the fourth one? I want answers! … But not ones I’m willing to attain by watching the films.