Christopher Meledandri is an American film producer and founder and CEO of Illumination. He previously served as President of 20th Century Fox Animation and is currently one of Nintendo's board of directors. He was one of the executive producers of Puss in Boots: The Last Wish alongside former Shrek director, Andrew Adamson, and will produce Shrek 5 with Gina Shay.
Involvement with the Shrek franchise[]
On November 6, 2018, it was announced that Chris Meledandri was attached to head development of Shrek 5 and Puss in Boots 2. While initially signing on to oversee reboots of both franchises, his love of the franchise and commitment to getting the original voices back shifted a change in plans. News would progressively grow silent however, leading to rumors of his company, Illumination, working on a Shrek reboot. This was never officially confirmed, as DreamWorks Animation was still putting the planned sequels in active development.
Beginning in 2019, Meledandri would join the production of Puss in Boots: The Last Wish as an executive producer. With the critical and financial success of the film, Meledandri confirmed plans for another Shrek film, with a potential Donkey spin-off also being considered. He had also mentioned that he was discussing the plans with Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz- all of whom showed interest in reprising their roles. On July 9, 2024, it was confirmed that he was involved as co-producer for Shrek 5 alongside Gina Shay.