When your mega-money franchise starts to run out of steam (creatively, not financially), what do you do? You go backwards and start planning a prequel!
According to sources, DreamWorks chief Jeffrey Katzenberg wants "Shrek 4" to be an "origin story," a desire that goes a long way towards explaining why Jeffrey Katzenberg isn’t a screenwriter. "Katzenberg insists he always envisioned four chapters in the Shrek tale, and No. 4 will explore the green ogre’s origins," is what we’re being told, and some of us will choose to remember that when "Shrek 5" hits theaters in 2012.
A prequel?? Somebody get my agent on the phone!
Early word is that the next "Shrek" will be written by Tim Sullivan and directed by Mike Mitchell, but "Shrek the Third" was written by about a half-dozen people, so we’ll see how that goes.
Correction: Paramount has informed us that Josh Klausner will be writing "Shrek 4," not Tim Sullivan as reported above.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter, IGN Movies
