Universal Pictures has announced that actress Zendaya will join the cast of Shrek 5, lending her voice to Felicia, the daughter of Shrek and Fiona.
The studio revealed the casting news on Friday, February 28. Alongside the reveal, the team behind the movie resurfaced a tweet from Zendaya in August 2017, in which she humorously admitted, “I watch Shrek too often in my adulthood.”
Shrek 5 is set to hit theaters during the 2026 holiday season, with a Christmas release date. The film will reunite original stars Mike Myers as Shrek, Cameron Diaz as Princess Fiona, and Eddie Murphy as Donkey.
Zendaya starred in several movies recently including Challengers, Dune: Part Two, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Dune, Space Jam: A New Legacy, and Spider-Man: Far from Home, among others.
She also starred in TV series including Euphoria and The OA.
In an interview with Vanity Fair in November 2024, the actress was asked if choosing projects of different genres was a deliberate choice.
"It’s not a strategic thing. I feel like the right parts find you in the same way you find them," she pointed out. "Sometimes you might be developing something and it just falls through. I remember many years ago, there was a project I was working on that fell through. We were supposed to shoot, and then a month before, it fell apart."
She further recalled: "And then I got this script for Euphoria, and that ended up shooting in its slot. I was like, 'Oh my God, thank God that movie fell apart!' But at the time we were like, 'Shit.' There was really a reason for all of it."
The actress emphasized that an engaging script is crucial in her decision-making process. "I try to go with my feelings. Honestly, it’s really hard to get me to finish a script, because I get sidetracked really easily. When something can make me read it to the end and keeps me engaged, then I know that it’s something that I want to do," she relayed.