WithShrek 5officially in development, the Lord Farquaad actor is mulling over a potential return. The franchise began in 2001 and evolved into a multimedia giant, such as video games, comics, and even a musical, alongside four movies and a spin-off franchise. After the success of 2022’sPuss in Boots: The Last Wish,DreamWorks Animation officially announced thatthe upcomingShrek 5is in the works. Three cast members are confirmed for the movie, but John Lithgow is not among them. He voiced Lord Farquaad, the tyrannical antagonist, who vilified Shrek and worked to erase magic from the world.
In an interview withPeople, Lithgow considered a potential return but swiftly turned down the possibility. While he joked about Farquaad’s ending, he did say thathe would “say yes in a minute,“Unfortunately, he admitted that the producers never approached him andis not involved with the production. Read the comment below:
It turns out it’s impossible to recover from being eaten by a dragon… They haven’t approached me. I know nothing about it and no, I’m not a part of it.
John Lithgow Is Not Involved
Farquaad was a prominent character in the originalShrekmovie but failed to make much of an impact afterward. He was eaten by a dragon at the end of the first movie. Thus,resurrecting him would be a challenge, given that there is little left for the thoughtless king. His subsequent roles have been reduced to flashbacks, ghostly appearances, and clips from the first movie. He did have one prominent appearance in Universal Studios’Shrek 4-Dride, where he appeared as a ghost figure that abducts Fiona. He was again destroyed by the Dragon, which solidifies his fate.
Besides, without Farquaad there, the movies hardly stumbled, as this box office chart shows:
$448 million
~$800 million
$929 million
~$1.58 billion
Shrek the Third (2007)
$813 million
~$1.27 billion
$753 million
~$1.1 billion
Puss in Boots (2011)
$555 million
~$794 million
$481 million
~$539 million
In the first movie without Farquaad, which wasShrek 2, the franchise actually made more money than it has before or since.The two highest-grossing films did not include him in any substantial role.ThePuss in Bootsfranchisehas also blown away the competition, though it still has not risen to the heights of its source material. Farquaad is certainly not the reason that the sequels made more money, but it is proof that he is not necessarily needed to ensure success.
Bringing Farquaad backwould be an unnecessary problem. There would need to be a narrative explanation for his return, and he would likely do little more than retread established grounds. It is not as if he is a central character in the universe’s narrative. After his death, the othercharacters starred in three more movies, even without considering thePuss in Bootsmovies andthe upcoming Donkey spin-off. It would be fun to see him, but there is just no need to revive the character whenShrek 5can focus on its heroes.
Shrek 5
Cast
Shrek 5 is the fifth installment in the popular animated film series.
