(Updated 04/26/2022)
After ten long years, one of the most memorable characters in the SHREK movies is coming back to the big screen. We're not talking about the green guy himself, though there will probably be a new Shrek movie in the not-too-distant future. No, the character in question is the fighting feline Puss in Boots. Our favorite swashbuckling orange cat started his cinematic journey in 2004, when he met Shrek and Donkey in SHREK 2.
Audiences loved him so much that Puss got his very own spin-off, PUSS IN BOOTS, in 2011. In that movie, we learned his origin story. The new movie, called PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH, will follow Puss as he realizes that he is on his ninth and final life, spurring a quest to regain his eight lost lives.
Here's everything we know about PUSS IN BOOTS 2, including the very entertaining first trailer.
The Puss in Boots 2 Release Date
PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH is currently set for a theatrical release on December 21, which is a push of three months from the movie's original September 23 release date. But that's also good news, because it means the studio thinks there's good Christmas season potential for the movie, which is good for audiences!
Watch the First Puss in Boots: The Last Wish Trailer
This first PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH trailer is surprisingly great. Not in the sense that it is funny, with hints of very entertaining vocal performances from the cast. No, it's the animation style, which looks more like moving paintings than the CG animation of SHREK or even the first PUSS IN BOOTS movie.
What’s the Story in Puss in Boots: The Last Wish?
The core idea is pretty simple: Puss has managed to lose eight out of his nine lives and is on a mission to reclaim them. Having more or less thrown away those first eight lives, the adventurous cat is about to learn what living your best life really means.
The Cast of Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
First up: Antonio Banderas is back as the voice of Puss. (From 2015 to 2018, DreamWorks Animation partnered with Netflix to create a Puss in Boots television show, THE ADVENTURE OF PUSS IN BOOTS, where Eric Bauza was cast as the voice of Puss. We don't know if Bauza will be involved in this movie.) Salma Hayek is also back to voice Kitty Softpaws, and Puss turning to her for help is not an easy move for the swashbuckling feline to make.
Harvey Guillén ("What We Do in the Shadows") voices the chatty and cheerful mutt, Perro, and Florence Pugh (BLACK WIDOW, MIDSOMMAR) voices Goldilocks while John Mulaney voices "Big" Jack Horner and Wagner Moura lends his voice to a terrifying bounty hunter, the Big Bad Wolf.
Also in the cast are Olivia Colman, Ray Winstone, Samson Kayo, Anthony Mendez, and Da'Vine Joy Randolph, with a vocal appearance by original PUSS IN BOOTS director Chris Miller.
Who is Writing and Directing Puss in Boots: The Last Wish?
Though Chris Miller will not be back to direct the PUSS IN BOOTS sequel, new directors Joel Crawford and Janual Mercado are well established at DreamWorks Animation. Crawford and Mercado worked together previously on THE CROODS: A NEW AGE and KUNG FU PANDA 2.
The lead screenwriter on PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH is Paul Fisher, who worked with Mercado on THE LEGO NINJAGO MOVIE and was in the art department with Crawford on THE CROODS: A NEW AGE, SHREK FOREVER AFTER and PUSS IN BOOTS.
We'll tell you more about PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH soon!
All images courtesy of Dreamworks Animation and Universal Pictures.