Shrek: Octomania

Shrek: Octomania is an upcoming American computer-animated adventure comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation, Ducapark Studios, Hyperobject Industries, and Lord Miller Productions, and distributed by Universal Pictures. It is the sequel to Shrek Forever After, Scooby-Doo: Yoshi's Weirdmageddon and The Hunchback of Happy Feet: Simba's Bully, and a spin-off to Unknown (2003). It is directed by James Ryan (in his feature directorial debut), with a screenplay by Adrian Molina and Bob Logan, from a story Molina co-wrote with Conrad Vernon and Todd Alcott, and stars the voices of Jack Black (replacing Mike Myers as the voice of Shrek) alongside Antonio Banderas, Seth Rogen, Dove Cameron, Eddie Murphy, Melissa McCarthy (replacing Cameron Diaz), Jeff Goldblum, Shawn Mendes (replacing Justin Timberlake), Alex Hirsch and Jenny Slate. In the film, Shrek, Puss, Donkey, and Fiona set out on a journey to find the Last Wish and get Puss' 8 lives back while escaping new and old enemies who plan to hunt them down.
Shrek: Octomania is scheduled to be released theatrically in the United States on August 4, 2023, by Universal Pictures.
==Premise==
Taking place two years after Shrek Forever After, Shrek feels guilty for Puss burning through eight of his nine lives, so He, Puss, Donkey, and Fiona set out on a journey to the mystical Wishing Octopus and get Puss’ lives back while escaping Bellwether, Bob the Viking, and Smaug who plan to hunt them down.
==Cast==
*Jack Black as Shrek. He was originally voiced by Mike Myers in the first four films.
*Antonio Banderas as Puss in Boots, a cat hero and feline soldier.
*Seth Rogen as Bob the Viking Warrior Dwarf, A highly trained viking and assassin who is hunting Puss for his supposed role of defending the universe.
*Dove Cameron as Claire Wilson, an octoling agent and a descendant of Kitty Softpaws that is Puss' fiance.
*Eddie Murphy as Donkey
*Melissa McCarthy as Fiona. She was originally voiced by Cameron Diaz in the first four films.
*Jeff Goldblum as Smaug, Bob’s dad, and a bounty-hunting dragon
*Shawn Mendes as King Artie. He was originally voiced by Justin Timberlake in Shrek the Third.
*Alex Hirsch as Captain Hook
*Jenny Slate as Dawn Bellwether, an anthropomorphic sheep business widow who seeks revenge on Puss for crashing the B.R.A.
==Production==
===Development===
In February 2014, in an interview with Fox Business Network, Katzenberg hinted that a fifth film could still be made. "We like to let them have a little bit of time to rest," he said of the characters. "But I think you can be confident that we'll have another chapter in the Shrek series. We're not finished, and more importantly, neither is he."
In July 2016, The Hollywood Reporter cited sources saying that the fifth film was planned for a 2019 release. In September 2016, Eddie Murphy confirmed that the film was expected to be released in 2019 or 2020, and that the script had been completed.
On November 6, 2018, it was reported by Variety that Chris Meledandri had been tasked to be the executive producer of both Shrek 5 and Puss in Boots 2, with the cast of the previous films potentially returning. In June 2020, James Ryan was set to direct the film, with Philip Craven serving as co-director, and Adrian Molina writing the screenplay from a story he co-wrote with Conrad Vernon and Todd Alcott. Rob LaDuca, Nick Park, Adam McKay, Phil Lord, and Christopher Miller would produce the film through McKay's company, Hyperobject Industries. Margie Cohn, the president of DreamWorks Animation, said that "adding Rob, Nick, Adam, Phil and Chris’ genius to the humor, thriller, and action that's already an integral part of Shrek is going to make this a next-level reinvention of the property". Ryan said that it is an "absolute pleasure" to direct the film, having been an associate editor on "Shrek Forever After". In August 2020, McKay said that the film would both feature elements from the Shrek franchise and the DreamWorks Cinematic Universe, of which he's been a lifelong fan, and "kind of hone in on" to elements from his previous Will Ferrell movies.
Later in October 2021, the film was under the working title Shrek: Far From Home with the movie's original release date. In 2022, concept art was released. In August, the official title was revealed as "Shrek: Octomania".
===Casting===
In September 2022, DreamWorks confirmed that Mike Myers would not reprise his role as Shrek. The role was given to Jack Black, while Antonio Banderas was confirmed to reprise his role. The following month, Jeff Goldblum joined the cast. In December 2022, Eddie Murphy, Seth Rogen, and Jenny Slate were confirmed to reprise their roles. On December 15, 2022, it was announced that Melissa McCarthy had replaced Cameron Diaz as the voice of Fiona. On January 18, 2023, Dove Cameron joined the cast, while Shawn Mendes replaced Justin Timberlake as the voice of Artie and Alex Hirsch was confirmed to reprise his role.
===Animation===
Work on the film's animation had already begun by September 2021. According to Adam McKay, Ryan wanted "line-drawn illustration style" look for the film and much of the technology used for The Bad Guys was reused for Shrek: Octomania to achieve this while new tools were created.
==Marketing==
Ryan showed an excerpt of animation at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in June 2022. Rafael Motamayor of /film compared the film's visual aesthetic to Klaus, both having a joyful style that he described as fun for the film. To accompany the title announcement in August, a mural promoting the film went up in Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. The first trailer was teased to release on January 24, 2023, with a social media promotion starting on January 16, counting down the eight days until then by revealing the various ways Puss in Boots loses his eight out of nine lives; one piece of footage per day.
==Release==
Shrek: Octomania is scheduled to be released in the United States on August 4, 2023, by Universal Pictures. The film was initially announced for release on August 11, 2023.