Antonio Banderas reveals new details from ‘Puss in Boots’

After actor Antonio Banderas revealed that “Puss in Boots” would indeed be an origin story for the character first introduced through “Shrek 2”, screenwriter David H. Steinberg confirmed that Puss will be the only original character kept for the spin-off. “No, all new characters – except Puss,” the scribe told Moviehole, dishing out possibility of Shrek, Fiona or Donkey making an appearance.

As for the reason behind the elimination of those popular characters, Steinberg pointed out on the fact that he is in the blank on the “Shrek Forever After” and “Shrek 5” scripts. “It doesn’t overlap with Shrek at all,” he explained. “Partly that was done to tell an original Puss story, but partly because we didn’t know what Shrek 4 (and now Shrek 5) were going to do with the characters and we couldn’t write conflicting storylines.”

Earlier, Puss’ voice actor, Banderas, has opened up to Coming Soon on what this spin-off will be dealing with. “…we’re going to go from the time he’s a very little cat, so you see actually why and how he becomes an adult killer, and the reasons why he ends up on that path,” he said. “It’s interesting because it goes away from that kind of use of popular culture that ‘Shrek’ has. It goes in a different way, and the movie sometimes gets almost emotional, I may say, and it’s kind of epic.”

“I found when they pitched the movie to me, and now reading the script, a total real connection with the character. Obviously, he’s a cartoon, but (I have) a real personal connection with him in terms of what he’s expressing. It’s very emotional at some points, it’s very special. It’s going to surprise people I think; they’re not going to expect what we’re going to do.”

Scheduled to hit U.S. theaters on March 20, 2012, “Puss in Boots” will be directed by “Shrek the Third” helmer Chris Smith. Its official synopsis is read, “Swords will cross and hearts will be broken in this adventure starring one of the most beloved characters of the Shrek universe – Puss In Boots. It’s a swashbuckling ride through Puss’s early years as he teams with mastermind Humpty Dumpty and the street-savvy Kitty (Salma Hayek) to steal the famed Goose that lays the Golden Eggs.”