Eleven years after the premiere of the Shrek spinoff film Puss in Boots, a sequel is finally in the works. According to Deadline, Salma Hayek is on board to reprise her role of Kitty Softpaws in the animated movie, titled Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. She is reuniting with Antonio Banderas, who voices the fiercely adorable titular cat with flashy taste in footwear.
The Last Wish picks up with Puss as he grapples with the tolls of his swashbuckling lifestyle as a feline fugitive. What We Do in the Shadows star Harvey Guillén joins Hayek and Banderas as the new character Perro, Puss and Kitty’s unlikely canine companion.
The cast also boasts Academy Award winner Olivia Colman, as well as Florence Pugh, fresh off last week’s news that she’s in talks to appear alongside Timothèe Chalamet in Dune Part Two. John Mulaney, Wagner Moura, Ray Winstone, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Anthony Mendez, and Samson Kayo round out the ensemble.
The Puss in Boots sequel is a long time in the making. Dreamworks first announced a follow-up project called Puss in Boots 2: Nine Lives & 40 Thieves in 2014, but it was delayed and eventually scrapped altogether.
The creative team behind The Croods 2: A New Age is helming The Last Wish. Joel Crawford is directing, with Januel Mercado as co-director. Mark Swift is producing, along with Illumination founder Chris Meledandri (aka the guy responsible for the cultural phenomenon that was the Despicable Me Minions).
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is currently slated for release on Sept. 23, 2022, and there’s apparently a trailer coming this week.