Shrek 5 Lands Austin Powers writer Michael McCullers

In an interview with The Hollywood News, Trolls directors Walt Dohrn (writer of Shrek 2) and Mike Mitchell (director of Shrek Forever After) revealed that DreamWorks Animation has hired screenwriter Michael McCullers (The Boss Baby, Baby Mama) to pen Shrek 5. SNL vet McCullers is a longtime Mike Myers associate, having written the second and third Austin Powers movies with him as well as the unproduced movie version of Sprockets.

“They’ve got a pretty good story,” said Mitchell. “It’s being written by Michael McCullers who wrote all of the ‘Austin Powers’ films. He came up with a really great idea that they’re exploring.”

“There’s more story to tell there and we’re ready to help tell it for sure,” added Dohrn.

Though the two did not confirm they would direct the fivequel, they stated that they were interested in doing so. They also mentioned they were developing a sequel to Mitchell’s 2005 superhero comedy Sky High.

NBCUniversal chief Steve Burke previously stated that Illumination Entertainment’s Chris Meledandri will now have creative control and “he is creatively going to try to help us figure out how to resurrect Shrek and take a lot of the existing DreamWorks franchises and add value as we create new franchises.”

The most recent installment, Shrek Forever After, opened in May 2010 and though it only grossed $239 million domestically, less than the previous three movies, it grossed $752.6 million worldwide. It was followed 17 months later by the Puss in Boots spin-off, which also fared better overseas than in North America. Even though the franchise has shown signs of diminishing returns in the States, the nearly $3 billion it has grossed between 2001 and 2010 certainly shows that making another movie would be lucrative.