Shrek 4

Yes, you read that right. Even though Shrek 3 isn’t due to hit theaters until like 2007, Dreamworks has hired a writer to start development of Shrek 4.

The good folks over at Monsters and Critics offer us this little tid bit:

DreamWorks has hired Tim Sullivan to write the script for “Shrek 4.” Variety reports the studio is about to move into pre-production on “Shrek 3,” which has been scripted by Peter Seaman and Jeffrey Price. It seems Sullivan was working on some other animated projects and was invited to submit a pitch, which the studio evidently liked.

This really shouldn’t surprise anyone. Making a Shrek film is like printing free money right now. With 2 quality films already in the can, Shrek 3 is guaranteed to make huge money no matter how good or bad it is. Even if 3 is horrible, the first 2 were great and most people would be willing to give 4 a shot. Dreamworks can’t lose on this one. Well, unless in #3 Shrek decides to become some huge Anti-Semitic Crusader on a quest to “cleanse” the lands. Other than that I think the Shrek series is looking just fine for a fourth.

The other quality about Shrek that saves it from the pitfalls most other franchises have to worry about when developing sequels, is that the story isn’t tied down. In the Shrek universe, you don’t have to really worry about continuity. Shrek can face any number of adventures that are free to be completely unrelated to anything the character have gone through before in previous films.

Think about it. Even another animated hit like “The Incredibles” will have to pay attention to character development, consistency of story, the boundaries of the “real world” and things like that. But Shrek has been set up in such a way that it’s free to do just about anything. That doesn’t mean it’ll be good. It just means they creators have more freedom with the type of material they can explore in this outrageous fantasy land Shrek takes place in. All they have to do is make sure the characters of Shrek, Fiona and Donkey are in there… and everything else is negotiable.

Your thoughts?

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9 thoughts on “Shrek 4

  1. Well the Dreamworks movie dept. might be working on some good but what is the animation working on and is it any good? The only memorable animated films I can recall from them, outside of “Shrek” which I am not particularly fond of, are the works they did with Wallace & Grommit (sp?).

    To me the Shrek films have been decent (that’s it) and I find the tendency of Hollywood to squeeze any mildly to wildly successful venture ’till the very last dime is squeeze out of it quite idiotic because the quality, 9 times out of 10, deteriorates. It becomes all about making the buck.

    If Pixar were to make sequels of every successful film they did we’d be swimming in Toy Story right now and probably never have gotten the chance to see “The Incredibles”.

  2. Someone once said I was anti-ogre. But that was just because I had a bad experience at Universal Studies during a visit to the Shrek 4-D ride.

    Otherwise, I’m in line for more of the green guy. Mike Myers is good, and it’s nice that someone is giving Eddie Murphy some work.

  3. Hey Arethusa

    I think if you look down Dreamworks production schedule, you’ll see that they are quite creative and working with a lot of good original material. Heck, Shrek was creative.

    I don’t think that working with an established franchise automatically means you can’t be fresh and creative. Besides, the Shrek films have both been good and made HUGE amounts of money for the company.

    I think you would agree that they would just be idiots to not do at least one or two more. Hey, as long as they’re entertaining right?

  4. That’s all swell, of course – but I see one major flaw with a Shrek franchise. The all-star cast. Who’s to say Eddie Murphy, Mike Myers, Diaz and Banderas, or something along the lines of those actors, will be willing to sign themselves up for a sequel. In 2007. And then for another one later on. Nevertheless, it would be brilliant if the same voices make it for 3. Yay or nay?

  5. If the script would be at least nearly as funny, as any of the first two, they can easily outdo Lucas’s 6-volume Star Wars with 7 and more series. And personally I wouldn’t mind, given that the experience would be as funny as it was before ;)

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