I Really Need Shrek 5 To Explain What Happened To This Character

There are many possibilities for the story of Shrek 5, but no matter what it is, I need it to explain what happened to one, seemingly forgotten character. In 2001, Shrek arrived to give a fun twist to fairy tales and animated movies, as well as to establish DreamWorks as a worthy competitor to Pixar. Shrek was also the beginning of a franchise that has expanded with spinoffs and more, but the main film series ended in 2010 with Shrek Forever After, which wasn’t exactly a hit with critics and viewers, especially when compared to the previous movies.

The popularity and potential of the unique world of Shrek left the audience wanting more, especially after the mess that was Shrek Forever After. Now, after years of waiting, Shrek 5 is finally in development and scheduled for a 2026 release, and it will bring back its main voice cast as Shrek, Fiona, and Donkey are all confirmed to return. Of course, plot details about Shrek 5 are still unknown, but there are many stories it could cover – however, more than what will happen to Shrek and Fiona, I’m more interested in knowing what happened to one character from Shrek the Third.

Artie Became King Of Far Far Away In Shrek 3

Artie Was A Main Character In Shrek The Third

The Shrek movies have seen many memorable characters, even if some of them didn’t go past their first appearance, but Shrek 3 introduced one character who had the potential to become a bigger one in future movies: Arthur “Artie” Pendragon (voiced by Justin Timberlake). Shrek 3 caught up with Shrek and Fiona as they prepared to succeed Fiona’s father, King Harold, whose health was in decline. Shrek tried and failed hard to serve as the Regent during King Harold’s medical absence, and with his dying breath, the king told Shrek there was another heir to the throne: Fiona’s cousin Artie.

As Shrek had no desire to become king, he set out (with Donkey and Puss in Boots) to find Artie and bring him to Far Far Away to make him the new king. To their surprise, Artie was a 16-year-old outcast at Worcestershire Academy. After confronting Prince Charming and the villains, as the former sought revenge for the death of his mother and wanted the throne of Far Far Away, Artie saved Shrek and was crowned the new king of Far Far Away while Shrek and Fiona returned to their swamp to raise their kids.

Shrek 3 was followed by Shrek Forever After, in which Shrek became tired of being a family man and a celebrity. Longing for the days when he was feared and thus had privacy, he made a deal with Rumpelstiltskin, but he was tricked. This resulted in Shrek landing in an alternate timeline where Fiona was never rescued, Puss was Fiona’s overweight pet, Donkey was scared of Shrek, and Shrek would cease to exist by the end of the day, as he gave Rumpel the day he was born – and Artie was nowhere to be seen.

Why Shrek Forever After Didn’t Include Artie

Artie Was Notably Absent In Shrek Forever After

In the alternate reality of Shrek Forever After, as Shrek was never born, Rumpel got King Harold and Queen Lilian to sign their kingdom over to Rumpel, meaning he was the king of Far Far Away. As Shrek didn’t exist, Artie was never brought to Far Far Away to become king, so he wasn’t part of most of Shrek Forever After’s story. However, Artie wasn’t seen or mentioned at the beginning and end of Shrek Forever After, set in Shrek’s correct timeline, so whatever happened to him (and Far Far Away) is unknown.

Artie is said to have been included in Shrek Forever After in deleted scenes, but none of them were included in the DVD, so the veracity of these is unclear. While many sources reported Justin Timberlake didn’t return to voice Artie in Shrek Forever After due to scheduling conflicts, director Mike Mitchell explained (via NBC Bay Area) that the movie was crowded with characters, and Artie would have been too busy with other affairs to be part of Shrek’s messy timeline plot. Artie wasn’t written off, but Shrek Forever After certainly made it seem like he was, as he wasn’t even mentioned.

Shrek 5 Needs To Address Artie & Far Far Away’s Fate

Shrek Can’t Keep Ignoring Artie’s Fate

Artie was a kid when he became King of Far Far Away, which is one of the reasons why I would love to know what happened to him and Far Far Away after Shrek 3. I understand he wouldn’t have been around in Rumpelstiltskin’s chaotic timeline in Shrek Forever After and I agree that it had too many characters, but the Shrek franchise can’t keep acting like Artie never existed. The Shrek franchise seems to have forgotten not just that Artie is now King, but also that he’s Fiona’s cousin and a friend of Shrek, Donkey, and Puss, more so after they saved each other’s lives.

Whatever the plot of Shrek 5 is, it needs to address what happened to Artie and Far Far Away. The above-mentioned supposed deleted scenes from Shrek Forever After saw Artie abusing his power and having a completely different attitude from what was seen in Shrek 3, and I would love to know if that was really the case or if he was a worthy leader.

Shrek 5 should also check in with Far Far Away, which is, after all, Fiona’s home, even if she doesn’t live there anymore. I’m not saying Artie should be a main character in Shrek 5, but it should definitely address what happened to him after he took the throne of Far Far Away.

Source: NBC Bay Area.

Shrek

Based loosely on the children’s book of the same name by William Steig, Shrek tells the story of an ogre (Michael Myers) who sets with his new friend Donkey (Eddie Murphy) out to regain his swamp from fairytale characters. Tasked with rescuing Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) in return for the restoration of his solitude, Shrek discovers that he’s not the loner he always thought he was, and that looks aren’t always everything.

Director

Vicky Jenson , Andrew Adamson

Release Date

May 18, 2001

Runtime

90 minutes