We've heard talk of Shrek reboot since at least 2018, when Illumination boss Chris Meledandri talked up the idea of a new spin on the DreamWorks Animation franchise. Now, following the success of Puss In Boots: The Last Wish (which — spoiler alert – hinted at a return to Shrek-y territory at its end) Meledandri is still considering it, moving to the point where he says he wants the original cast back.
Interviewed by Variety as Super Mario Bros. lands in cinemas, Meledandri again brought up the venerable franchise.
"It’s not that dissimilar to the process that we went through with Mario, where you look at what the core elements are that audiences have loved, and you do your very best to honor those core elements," he says. "And then you’re hard at work to build story elements and new characters that take you to brand new places. The original cast is a huge part of that." That, of course, meaning Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz.
"We anticipate the cast coming back," he continues. "Talks are starting now, and every indication that we’ve gotten is there’s tremendous enthusiasm on behalf of the actors to return."
So yes, Smash Mouth could soon be anticipating some new royalty cheques, and a new movie might be more a matter of when, not if.