Zendaya is undergoing quite a makeover in Shrek 5 as she plays the iconic ogre’s daughter.
The first teaser trailer for the animated flick debuted on Thursday, February 27, with the official casting announcement. The 27-second clip starts with Shrek (voiced by Mike Myers) and Donkey (Eddie Murphy) asking the Magic Mirror the age-old question, “Who’s the fairest of them all?”
The Mirror then goes through a variety of snippets showing Shrek posing with sunglasses, dancing in a leather catsuit and then with six-pack abs. It’s all very similar to the goofy videos circulating on TikTok.
Donkey and Shrek are horrified before a teenage girl (Zendaya) comes into the frame. “Ew, Dad!” the girl says.
Cameron Diaz Returning to ‘Shrek’ Franchise After 12 Years for 5th Film
Fiona (Cameron Diaz) has a different take, saying, “Oh, mama like-y!”
“Who’s making this stuff?” Shrek asks. Pinnochio pops up to say it wasn’t him, but his nose starts growing.
After the title card, the official Shrek 5 cast list is shown. “Starring Mike Meyers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz and … Zendaya? Oh damn!” the announcer says.
Zendaya, who was 4 when the first film debuted in 2001, has been public about her love for the franchise. “I watch Shrek too often in my adulthood,” she tweeted in August 2017.
The two-time Emmy winner revealed that movies from her childhood helped her unwind after filming dark scenes for her HBO drama Euphoria.
“I used to watch [the Harry Potter films] to get through the first season of Euphoria,” Zendaya told InStyle in November 2022. “Some days I just want to go home, cuddle up with my dog, and watch a little Harry Potter. I also love Shrek. That’s another staple in my household when I have heavy days at work.”
Inside Cameron Diaz’s Return After Reaching Her Breaking Point
Shrek 5 is the first installment in the main franchise since Shrek Forever After debuted in 2010. The film comes after Diaz stepped out of retirement. The actress largely stayed out of the spotlight following 2014’s Annie but returned for Netflix’s Back in Action, which debuted in January.
Diaz explained during a January appearance on The Graham Norton Show that she wasn’t sure how many films she wanted to make and was taking her career one project at a time.
“If I just let this go away, all of this goodwill that I got to build over so much time, the passion I have for entertaining people and making movies that people smile and laugh [at] and have a good time… if I don’t engage that again, and give that a chance and participate in it and be grateful for it, then I would be a fool,” Diaz shared.
She added: “This is maybe the beginning, maybe I’ll tiptoe in. Maybe I’ll go gung ho. I don’t know, but it’s here and I’m really grateful for it.”
Shrek 5 is expected to hit theaters December 23, 2026.
