Yup, your eyes don’t deceive you – Shrek is back! After Eddie Murphy slipped up in an interview with Collider, Dreamworks Animation has not only confirmed that the film is in the works, but also gave a release date of 1st July, 2026.
Alongside the bombshell, the studio announced that Mike Myers (Shrek), Eddie Murphy (Donkey), and Cameron Diaz (Fiona) will return to reprise their roles 25 years since the original “Shrek” landed in theatres.
By the time “”Shrek 5” hits theatres, it would have been 15 years since the most recent mainline Shrek movie, “Shrek Forever After,” in 2010. In that span of time, Dreamworks has released two Puss in Boots spinoffs, which include the critically-acclaimed “The Last Wish.”
Furthermore, it was revealed that Walt Dohrn, writer for the second and third Shrek films, and the head of story for the fourth, will be directing the latest installment of the franchise. Directing alongside him will be Brad Ableson, famous for co-directing “The Rise of Gru.” Additionally, Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri and Gina Shay of “Shrek Forever After” will be producing the flick.
And there’s more. Loose-lipped Eddie Murphy also confirmed that a Donkey standalone movie is in the works! The legendary actor went on the record to say that we’ll see “Shrek 5” first, followed by the Donkey film shortly thereafter – but he didn’t confirm whether the latter will be a mainline film or a spinoff one, like “Puss in Boots.”
“We started doing Shrek 4 or 5 months ago,” Murphy said. “I did this, I recorded the first act, and we’ll be doing it this year, we’ll finish it up. Shrek is coming out, and Donkey’s gonna have his own movie. We’re gonna do Donkey as well. So we’re gonna do a Shrek, and we’re doing a Donkey [movie]… No, not at the same time. I started recording Shrek, I think it’s coming out in 2025, and we’re doing a Donkey one next.”
Sources: Hollywood Reporter, Collider, IMDb
