You probably haven't seen the last of your favorite ogre, donkey, and boot-wearing cat.

Now that DreamWorks Animation is part of Paramount Pictures, "Despicable Me" producer Chris Meledandri is looking for ideas for more "Shrek" and "Puss in Boots" films. He told Variety that "there a tremendous amount of fun to be had in that world."

Talk of adding to the franchise isn't new. Even before DreamWorks Animation moved to Paramount, it looked like we would likely be getting more at some point. In 2014, then-DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg said in a Fox Business Network interview (via a Variety report), "I think you can be confident that we'll have another chapter in the Shrek series." That same year, a "Puss in Boots" sequel was even scheduled to hit theaters in November 2018.

Yet, here we are in November 2018, and neither of those films have come out. For Paramount at least, "the challenge ... has been to find something that really does feel like it's not simply yet another film in a series of sequels," as Meledandri told Variety.

Whatever story they settle on, he understands that a lot of the fun comes from the actors who have voiced the characters, Mike Myers (Shrek), Eddie Murphy (Donkey), and Antonio Banderas (Puss in Boots).

"When you look back on those vocal performances they're awesome, and while you certainly could make a case for a complete reinvention, I find myself responding to my own nostalgic feelings of wanting to go back to those characterizations," Meledandri said.

We hope all goes according to plan. The movies just wouldn't be the same without the original voices.

[via: Variety]