Zendaya joins the voice cast of the highly anticipated Shrek 5 as Felicia, the daughter of Shrek (Mike Myers) and Fiona (Cameron Diaz), in the upcoming sequel to the Universal Pictures and DreamWorks animated franchise. The film is set for a theatrical release on December 23, 2026.
In her post on X in 2017, the then-20-year-old Euphoria star shared how she watches Shrek too often in her adulthood. Meanwhile, she is no stranger to voice roles, having previously voiced Lola Bunny in 2021’s Space Jam: A New Legacy and Meechee in 2018’s Smallfoot.
Walt Dohrn and Conrad Vernon, longtime collaborators of the franchise, will direct Shrek 5. Dohrn worked on Shrek 2 and Shrek the Third as a story artist and writer, later serving as head of story and voicing Rumpelstiltskin in Shrek Forever After. Vernon, on the other hand, co-directed Shrek 2 and voiced the Gingerbread Man. The plot of the film is still unknown, but Myers, Diaz, and Eddie Murphy will be returning to voice their iconic roles as Shrek, Fiona, and Donkey, respectively.
Universal and DreamWorks released a short teaser and announced the voice cast with updated character designs that seem to embrace modern Gen Z culture and trends. However, these designs have been compared to the “Ugly Sonic” strategy. This refers to the controversy surrounding the 2020 live-action Sonic the Hedgehog‘s original Sonic design, which was widely criticized for its departure from the source material. Some speculate that studios these days use this as a strategy — releasing divisive designs to generate buzz and spark conversations, adding more hype to the project.
Watch the Shrek 5 cast announcement trailer below:
Zendaya is booked and busy with her upcoming schedule of projects slated for 2026. She is currently set to star in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, an untitled fourth Marvel Studios Spider-Man film, and the third season of Euphoria.