Just before dropping "The Super Mario Bros. Movie", Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri confirmed "Shrek 5" was in the cards... and it sounds like that sequel might hit our screens soon.
In a recent interview with Collider, Eddie Murphy (the voice of Donkey) let slip that he's been doing voice work for a while and that he expected the movie to hit the big screen next year. If that's got you excited, you'll be pleased to know that Murphy also teased that his character will get a solo outing after they finish "Shrek 5" (plot details about both remain under wraps).
"We started doing "Shrek 4" or "[Shrek] 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]".
That sidekick spinoff is likely still a ways off, though. When asked whether he was working on both projects right now, Eddie Murphy added, "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"."
News of another potential spinoff shouldn't come as any real surprise. Shrek's last feature outing, "Shrek Forever After" arrived back in 2010, but the franchise has lived on in "Puss in Boots" and the 2022 flick, "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish". The latter was the tenth-highest-grossing movie of the year and earned an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature ("Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio" won out).
Eddie Murphy has been voicing the sidekick to Mike Myers' beloved green ogre since the original movie aired in 2001, and he's been calling for more "Shrek" movies — and a solo "Donkey" outing — for a while now. He's even taken a swipe at Antonio Banderas' fencing feline in the process!
Last January, he told ETalk that he was 'absolutely' open to returning. "I'd absolutely be open if they ever came with another "Shrek", I'd do it in two seconds. I love Donkey", he said at the time. "You know, they did "Puss in Boots" movies. I was like, 'They should have did a Donkey movie. Donkey is funnier than Puss in Boots. I mean, I love Puss in Boots, but he ain't funny as the Donkey. I would do a Donkey movie. I would do another "Shrek" in two seconds."
Who else is returning for "Shrek 5"?
When Illumination's Chris Meledandri first confirmed he was working with DreamWorks Animation to bring the "Shrek" franchise back, he made it clear he was keen to work with the original cast.
“It’s not that dissimilar to the process that we went through with "Mario," where you look at what the core elements are that audiences have loved, and you do your very best to honor those core elements,” Meledandri said at the time. “And then you’re hard at work to build story elements and new characters that take you to brand new places. The original cast is a huge part of that.”
At that point, negotiations were ongoing with the cast, and Meledandri said there was 'tremendous enthusiasm' from the actors to return. Given Eddie Murphy's on board, that suggests we can almost certainly expect both Mike Myers and Cameron Diaz to reprise the roles of Shrek and Fiona, too.
Where to watch Shrek right now
If this progress update has you keen to revisit DreamWorks' animated hit, you can currently find it on Netflix, where (at the time of writing) it's just clinging onto a spot in the Netflix top 10 movies.
If you want to stream it on one of the best streaming services, you'd better act fast, as "Shrek" is leaving Netflix at the end of July.
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