Shrek reportedly alive in the new Puss in Boots movie

Breaking news: According to Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado, nan head and co-director of Puss successful Boots: The Last Wish, Shrek is live wrong nan story’s timeline. Previously, I had theorized that nan beloved greenish ogre really passed distant immoderate clip earlier nan caller movie, successful bid to amended hammer location nan movie’s connection astir mortality. But I americium very pleased to study that nan 2 DreamWorks Animation representatives refute nan thought that Shrek is dead.

“We did not kill him,” Crawford tells me, stifling a laughter aft I asked him astir nan destiny of nan ogre successful nan caller movie.

Crawford and Mercado whitethorn not person killed Shrek (and besides presumably did not termination Fiona, Donkey, and nan remainder of nan characters from nan franchise), but they do want to make it clear that clip has passed successful nan Far, Far Away beingness since Shrek Forever After. They estimate that it’s been astir 10 years aliases truthful (approximately 9 lifetimes for Puss), which they felt was important successful bid to support nan movie relevant.

“There’s a batch of nostalgia for Shrek, for Puss successful Boots,” explains Crawford. “And audiences person grown up. We wanted nan movie to turn up pinch them. You consciousness for illustration you cognize that character, but there’s a history that happened erstwhile you’re gathering this characteristic again. All of nan characters consciousness for illustration they’ve continued living. The world of Shrek has continued.”

Image: Universal Pictures

In a way, it’s not excessively different from really nan filmmakers down nan halfway Shrek bid approached each sequel. Shrek 2 head Conrad Vernon once told Polygon that for each crippled constituent that seemingly wrapped up successful Shrek, nan squad considered nan adjacent measurement (so erstwhile it came to Donkey and Dragon, that people meant hybrid babies). In nan lawsuit of The Last Wish, since nan astir caller movie successful nan Shrek bid came retired successful 2010, Crawford and Mercado cautiously considered what would person transpired successful nan 10 aliases truthful in-world years since then.

The consequence was a larger-than-life rockstar Puss successful Boots — 1 pinch a fearfulness of death. An older assemblage meant being capable to pat into much mature storylines, which nan filmmakers were excited to do, and grow nan acquisition of what group expected from a Shrek movie. And arsenic it turns out, you don’t actually need to termination Shrek successful bid to make a movie astir death. After all, nan large takeaway from Puss successful Boots: The Last Wish isn’t that life yet ends, but that life is simply a awesome and beautiful thing, and you can’t person that beauty and wonderment if Shrek is dead, according to nan directors.

“There are these themes of mortality, but it should make you travel distant going, Man, life is to beryllium lived, to beryllium shared, it’s fun — truthful we’re not going to termination Shrek!” says Crawford. “Viva Shrek!”

Puss successful Boots: The Last Wish is presently disposable connected request and will beryllium released connected DVD and Blu-Ray connected Feb. 28.