Shrek: Whatever Happened To Lord Farquaad?
"Shrek" begins with the titular ogre — voiced by Mike Myers — enjoying life in his swamp as he always has. However, his regimen, consisting of mudbaths, feasts, and scaring villagers half to death, is interrupted when loads of fairytale creatures set up camp on his land. The one responsible? The reprehensible, short-tempered, and egotistical Lord Maximus Farquaad (John Lithgow). He banishes them there to "perfect" his kingdom, Duloc, and sends Shrek to fetch his bride-to-be, Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz), so that he can marry her and become a proper king.
As fans of the "Shrek" series know, the wedding is wrecked by Shrek and his companions and Fiona chooses him over Farquaad. The wannabe king is then eaten by the Dragon, never to be seen at the movies again. As it turns out, Farquaad's story doesn't exactly end here. Farquaad famously returns in the Universal Studios theme parks attraction "Shrek 4-D" in a ghostly form, desiring to kill Fiona and take her as his queen in the underworld. His plot from beyond the grave continues in the "Shrek" comic series from publisher Dark Horse. Additionally, 2010's "Scared Shrekless" takes viewers to an abandoned, run-down version of Duloc.
Bearing in mind the direction of Shrek's story, Farquaad could have returned in the flesh after the events of "Shrek." Ultimately, though, the minds behind the "Shrek" series seemed to decide against such a concept.
Shrek Forever After was the perfect story to bring back Farquaad
The fourth installment in the "Shrek" saga, "Shrek Forever After," follows Shrek's foolish decision to make a deal with Rumpelstiltskin (Walt Dohrn). He's frustrated with his life as a family man and wants to reconnect with his ogre roots, so he signs a contract to get that way of life back for one day. In doing so, he's transported to a version of the world where he never fell in love with Fiona, married her, had kids, and met all of his closest friends. It's a desolate wasteland ruled by Rumpelstiltskin, where all of the "Shrek" characters have taken on totally different lives.
Though we see numerous alternate timeline takes on "Shrek" favorites in "Shrek Forever After," we never see or hear from Lord Farquaad. Considering he's the main villain of the original "Shrek" film, it's a bit strange that the team behind "Forever Ever" didn't toss in so much as a mention of his whereabouts or the state of Duloc in the new timeline. Thus, Redditors such as u/Mayan_Fist to ponder what became of him and other antagonists such as the Fairy Godmother (Jennifer Saunders) and Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) in the "Forever After" world.
Even though his time in the "Shrek" spotlight was short, Lord Farquaad will always hold a place among the franchise's most iconic villains.