Unfortunately for the people who've starred in Saturday Night Live since the sketch comedy show premiered, there are many reasons why being part of the series' cast is extremely difficult. For example, SNL's recent cast shakeup resulted in several of the show's stars losing their jobs. On top of that, there are many stories about how brutal working on the show can be behind the scenes.
Of course, there are still plenty of reasons why being cast on Saturday Night Live would be a dream come true for comedy performers all over the world. The most obvious example of that is the fact that starring in SNL is one of the quickest ways for someone to become famous. However, the fact that one of SNL's current stars has just landed a huge opportunity underlines the biggest reason why being cast on the show is incredibly sought after, the show launches movie careers.
Saturday Night Live star Marcello Hernandez has been cast in Shrek 5
Easily one of the biggest family film franchises of all-time, the Shrek series has been a huge hit with audiences for years. As a result of that success, the franchise has included six theatrically released feature films to date. Shrek, Shrek 2, Shrek the Third, Shrek Forever After, Puss in Boots, and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. Now, the world has learned that the series will soon continue since Shrek 5 has been announced.
In February 2025, Universal Pictures' YouTube channel published a video that confirmed four huge stars who will star in Shrek 5, Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy, and Zendaya. That video seemed to reveal that Zendaya will be portraying Shrek and Fiona's daughter, Felicia. Major fans of the franchise may already know that Fiona and Shrek also have two sons, Fergus and Farkle.
Months later in November 2025, the official Instagram page for the Shrek franchise published a video that revealed the two actors who will voice Shrek and Fiona's sons. Fortunately for Marcello Hernandez, the Saturday Night Live star will be portraying one of the sons, alongside Skyler Gisondo, the actor who is best known for portraying Jimmy Olson in James Gunn's 2025 Superman movie.
Anyone who has seen Hernandez's willingness to be silly on SNL may not be surprised that the video announcing he will be part of Shrek 5 was pretty unusual. That is because a series of images showed Hernandez looking like Shrek because he was sporting green face paint and fake ogre ears.
So far, the six aforementioned actors are the only confirmed cast members for Shrek 5. That likely indicates that the SNL star's role in the upcoming animated movie will be significant. Judging from the franchise's past, it is extremely likely that other major stars will also be adding their voices to the movie. For example, I certainly hope that Antonio Banderas will be involved, even though his character has gotten two spin-off movies. No matter who else is involved in the project, it is already certain that Hernandez will be co-starring with four huge stars in the highly anticipated movie.