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A small, CGI-animated bird from Dreamworks recently dropped a present into Cinema Blend‘s inbox with potential news on Shrek Goes Fourth. Apparently the list of actors being considered to voice the villain includes one surprise… Tom Cruise. The super secret source provided no additional details, but since the film doesn’t release until 2010 I wouldn’t expect to hear anything resembling a confirmation or denial until some time next year.

Although this is very much a rumour at this point, certain factors make it sound legit:

1) Cruise has worked with Mike Myers before on Austin Powers in Goldmember.

2) Cruise has never voiced an animated character before, which goes against SAG bylaw #66G7 requiring all actors/actresses who’ve starred in two or more blockbusters to do a voice for Pixar or Dreamworks. (Actors who continually make box-office bombs have to do animated films for The Weinstein Company.)

3) Cruise is in the middle of a career makeover of epic proportions, and anything different from the norm is looking good to him… particularly if it involves comedy. His star-making turn in Ben Stiller’s Tropic Thunder was just the biggest and loudest salvo. That film’s success bodes well for his next pairing with Stiller in a grown-up remake of The Hardy Boys, which is also due in 2010.

Can you picture Cruise voicing an animated character? Who wouldn’t want to hear Cruise telling Shrek to take one step back and fuck his own face?