Antonio Banderas teases Puss in Boots future: "Maybe Shrek is coming back"

Given that success, you might be wondering if Puss will be back again any time soon, and so we put that question to Banderas himself during an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com.

And although the star said he couldn't confirm anything at this stage, he did tease that we could end up seeing some of the cat's familiar friends again in future films.

"It doesn't depend on me, normally sequels are chosen by the audience," he explained. "[But] if they go to the movie theatre massively in the way that they are responding to Puss in Boots probably this could lead to the possibility of another movie with Puss."

He added: "Or as the movie indicates towards the end when you see Far Far Away, they are going to visit some old friends at the end of the movie – maybe Shrek is coming back.

"I don't know, there are many different possibilities open for these characters to continue, but that doesn't depend on me, that is something that the audience chooses in a way."

The new film is perhaps the most adventurous one in the Shrek franchise so far, both in terms of its animation style and its story – following Puss on an adventure to find the mythical Last Wish after he discovers he is down to the last of his nine lives.

And Banderas has revealed that his own personal experience helped shape the script after he suffered a heart attack in 2017.

"What really shaped the script and the story was the circumstances in which the whole entire world had to conform – COVID, kids in confinement and you cannot see our friends and all of that," he explained. "But at the same time, I think it's also my own personal experience – in 2017, I had my heart scare.

"It started as a script that was completely different. The first one we had, probably only 5% of that one made it, so they had been creating as the world was evolving into something and they saw the possibility, in a very courageous way, to actually dare to reflect about life and death in front of an audience that is kids."

He added: "I think it's a very interesting decision because kids are not idiots, they think very strongly about life, and they have an opinion and you have to respect that. And so I think parents understood and the movie is working beautifully in movie theatres all around the world."

Speaking further about the film's premise, director Joel Crawford explained that although the rough idea for the script was already in place when he came on board, he was keen to add his own personal touch.

"When I approached the project, there was already this concept that Puss in Boots was on the last of his nine lives," he explained.

"I think what for me made it personal, my pitch to the studio was this movie could be grounded in the absurdity of the fairy tale of a cat on his ninth life but ultimately could feel like an expression of what our lives can be.

"The fact that we all just get one life and it's special, and who you share it with is special. So the original pitch was like, we should enter into this as a fairy tale and it's going to have comedy, it's gonna have adventure, but it's gonna go deeper and surprise you and actually have this message about celebrating our lives."

While crafting the film, Crawford was inspired by the films of Akira Kurosawa and Sergio Leone – especially The Good, the Bad and the Ugly – and he explained that he and co-director Januel Mercado wanted to find a similar balance of fun, epic storytelling, and deep emotional connection in their movie.

"We wanted to have the audience enter and just be like, 'Wow, this is so fun being in a spaghetti western fairytale world' and then kind of be surprised by how human the story gets," he explained.

"We called it The Good, the Bad, and the Goldi," he added. "Because we have the good – Puss in Boots, Kitty Softpaws and Purrito the dog – we had the bad, Jack Horner, played by John Mulaney, and the wolf, played by Wagner Moura.

"And then the Goldie being this kind of misunderstood... you think they're bad at first, but Goldilocks and the three bears you find out more about them, and there's actually an incredible warmth to them."

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is now showing in UK cinemas. Visit our Film hub for more news and features, and find something to watch tonight with our TV Guide and Streaming Guide.

Try Radio Times magazine today and get 12 issues for only £1 with delivery to your home – subscribe now. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the Radio Times View From My Sofa podcast.