Yahoo Lifestyle Will Lord Farquaad Finally Make His Grand Return in 'Shrek 5'? (Exclusive)
At the end of Shrek, the dastardly (and extremely short) villain, Lord Farquaad gets devoured by a dragon. It is an ending befitting the evil monarch of a fairy tale kingdom, but one that, in hindsight, is bumming out fans. After all, a dead Lord Farquaad cannot return for future sequels.
In the 23 years since Shrek hit theaters, Lord Farquaad has yet to return to the Shrek universe despite multiple sequels and spinoffs. However, with Shrek 5 scheduled to hit theaters during summer 2026, fans have begun hoping that the Lord of Duloc might return. After all, he was last seen singing "Stayin' Alive" from the stomach of the dragon very much still alive AND it's a magical world where ogres can turn into people, so writers could easily whip up some potion to save him.
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While Mike Myers (Shrek), Cameron Diaz (Fiona) and Eddie Murphy (Donkey) have all been announced as returning for Shrek 5, but John Lithgow, who voiced Farquaad, is nowhere to be found on the IMDb lineup.
While chatting with Lithgow about latest film Conclave (currently in theaters), Parade asked the actor if he's ever been asked to return to the Shrek universe to reprise his role. Unfortunately for fans, as of October 2024, it would seem the answer is no.
"No, no. To my dismay," Lithgow responded. "I would have loved to, but it's pretty hard to regenerate a character who's been eaten by a dragon."
The Oscar-nominated actor did, however, have a suggestion for how to bring Farquaad back. "Do a prequel," he said. "Farquaad as a young man, but they would probably hire Ryan Gosling to do that."
It seems like for now a Farquaad sighting in Shrek 5 is just a pipe dream, but we'll keep on wishing that somehow the dragon barfed him up in the night and forgot about it.
Related: 'Shrek 5' Announces Release Date and Returning Cast Members
