Lord Farquaad was the first villain in the Shrek franchise, and thanks to the alternate timeline in Shrek Forever After, he should have appeared in it, but he was completely left out. In 2001, DreamWorks released the animated fantasy comedy Shrek, loosely based on the 1990 book by William Steig. Shrek was such a massive critical and commercial success that it established DreamWorks as a competitor to Pixar in the world of animation and made way for a media franchise covering spinoffs, short films, a musical, and more.

The main Shrek saga is formed by Shrek, Shrek 2, Shrek the Third, and Shrek Forever After, following the story of Shrek (voiced by Mike Myers) and Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz), from how they met to forming a family. Shrek Forever After was a massive shake-up for Shrek as he met trickster Rumpelstiltskin (Walt Dohrn), who offered Shrek a deal as he was tired of being a family man and a celebrity. This resulted in an alternate timeline where Shrek was never born, and by the movie’s logic, it should have brought Lord Farquaad back, but it completely forgot about it.

Lord Farquaad Wasn’t Included In Shrek Forever After’s Alternate Timeline (But Should Have Been)

Lord Farquaad Should Have Still Been Ruling Over Duloc

Rumpel’s deal was that Shrek would get a day as a “real ogre” in exchange for a day from his childhood, which was later revealed to be the day he was born. Rumpel did this as revenge against Shrek, as Fiona’s parents were about to sign the kingdom of Far Far Away over to him in exchange for lifting Fiona’s curse when they got the news that she had been saved by Shrek. As a result, in Shrek Forever After’s alternate timeline, Rumpel was the king of Far Far Away, Fiona rescued herself, Donkey was afraid of Shrek, and Puss in Boots was Fiona’s overweight pet.

Because Shrek was never born and Fiona was never rescued, Lord Farquaad should have still been alive and ruling over Duloc during the alternate timeline of Shrek Forever After, but he was nowhere to be seen. Farquaad was reportedly planned to appear in Shrek Forever After but the idea was dropped due to creative changes to the script, though there’s no reliable source on that. None of Shrek’s extended media has solved the mystery of where Farquaad was during Shrek Forever After’s alternate timeline, so it’s up to the audience’s imagination.

What Could Have Happened To Lord Farquaad In Shrek Forever After’s Alternate Timeline

Lord Farquaad’s One Appearance Might Offer Some Clues

Lord Farquaad should have been alive and well during the events of Shrek Forever After, but Duloc might not have thrived in this timeline, either. It’s possible that, still in pursuit of turning Duloc into a perfect kingdom, Farquaad ended with Duloc’s population by sending them to rescue Fiona. Another possibility is that, as Fiona freed herself from the tower and became the leader of the ogre resistance, Farquaad found another princess to marry, finally fulfilling his plans.

Weirdly enough, the alternate timeline of Shrek Forever After could have given Lord Farquaad a happy ending (for him at least. Not so much for the people of Duloc) that would have also saved Duloc from being completely abandoned, which would have made an interesting subplot in Shrek’s fourth movie.