Zendaya Joins Cast of Long-Awaited 'Shrek 5'

The long-awaited Shrek 5, set for a late 2026 release via Universal and DreamWorks, has added another top-tier name to its cast.

Thursday, per an initial exclusive from the Hollywood Reporter, word broke that Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actress Zendaya had joined the cast. According to the report, the Euphoria and Challengers star is set to play the daughter of Mike Myers and Cameron Diaz’s characters.

Complex has reached out to a rep for Zendaya for comment. This story may be updated.

Also on Thursday, a new teaser for Shrek 5 was released, giving fans a glimpse at Zendaya's character in action. See that below.

Shrek 5 will arrive 16 years after the most recent entry in the main franchise, 2010’s Shrek Forever After. In the years since, fans have been given a pair of feature-length Puss in Boots-focused spinoffs—Puss in Boots in 2011, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish in 2022—and a Netflix series centered on the character.

Eddie Murphy is also returning for the new film, once again bringing his signature comedic touch to the character of Donkey. In 2023, Murphy said he’d do another Shrek film “in two seconds” due to his fondness for the character. The Oscar-nominated actor also expressed interest in doing a Donkey spinoff of some sort, with a promising update on both fronts arriving later that year thanks to Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri.

With its Christmas 2026 release confirmed, there’s a chance Shrek 5 will arrive around the same time as Euphoria’s third (and likely final) season, which is expected to kick off at some point next year. Production began this month. Next year will also bring the release of Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer follow-up The Odyssey, which sees Zendaya in the cast alongside Tom Holland, to whom she was recently reported to be engaged.

Also on the horizon is a third Dune film, with filming possibly starting as soon as this summer. The second film in the franchise, Dune: Part Two, is up for Best Picture at this weekend's Oscars.