Shrek 5: Fans fume over new design of animated ogre as new teaser for Shrek sequel drops - when is the film out?

In a teaser cast announcement released by DreamWorks on Thursday, February 27, fans saw the return of Shrek, Fiona, Donkey and Shrek and Fiona now-grown teenage daughter Felicia. The cast announcement near the end of the teaser confirmed the return of Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy in their iconic roles, with Dune star Zendaya joining the cast as Felicia.

While many fans were excited by the news that we would be getting a new Shrek installment, some were left fuming over the teaser, with the animation design of the characters the source of their ire. One person took to social media to say: “I don't know who this man is, but it ain't Shrek.”

In a nod to a previous fan storm that saw animators working on the Sonic The Hedgehog redesign the character after vocal criticism from fans online, another added: “Can we bully dreamworks to change the shrek 5 animation like we did to paramount to change sonic’s animation?”

Some DreamWorks fans pointed out that the new design of Shrek and the family was more in line with thenrecent style developed by the animation studio. One person said: “The jump from the more realistic look of the past Shrek movies to the more cartoony 5th one has the same energy as jumping from 2013’s Croods to its 2020 sequel. DreamWorks had abandoned the realistic style after the 2010s, so the switch for Shrek is unsurprising.”

Despite the criticism, Shrek fans remain excited for the sequel, with the teaser cast announcement gaining almost five million views on YouTube over the past day.

When is Shrek 5 out?

Shrek 5 is due to hit cinemas in December 23, 2026. The fifth film in the series was originally greenlit way back in 2004, following the release of Shrek 2, but plans were eventually abandoned after bosses initially decided to end the franchise with the fourth film Shrek Forever After.

However, after DreamWorks was acquired by NBCUniversal, the plans for a fifth film were revived. This means that Shrek 5 will be released 15 years after the last installment and 25 years after the first film.