I can only imagine that the studio was over the moon with his cameo in Tropic Thunder, and they might even be speculating that Cruise's career may be in full rebound mode in a couple of years. It is also believed that Shrek 4 director Mike Mitchell is something of a Cruise fan, which couldn't hurt. Expect Shrek Goes Fourth to be an origin story, of sorts, explaining how he wound up in the swamp in the first place.