The production house DreamWorks Animation has announced the release date for one of their popular animated movies Shrek 5. The movie will be released after a long wait of almost two years in 2026. The original cast of Shrek will be returning to reprise their respective roles including Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz and Mike Myers. The film is currently under development and the franchise might also get a Donkey spin-off.

Shrek 5: Release date and spin-off

The fifth instalment in the Shrek franchise is under production and the release date is scheduled for July 1, 2026. The franchise will return with its original cast with Mike Myers as Shrek, Eddie Murphy as Donkey and Cameron Diaz as Fiona. However, as reported by Variety, Antonio Banderas’ return as Puss in Boots is yet to be confirmed. The film will also get a Donkey spin-off which was revealed in talks with Eddie Murphy. The cast is returning 16 years after Shrek Forever After in 2010.

Last month, Murphy slipped up on the information in a talk with Collider about Shrek 5 and the spin-off where he said, “We started doing [‘Shrek 5’] months ago. 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].”

About Shrek franchise

The first instalment of Shrek was premiered in 2001 and was a mega phenomenon. As reported by The Guardian, the film cashed in $487m worldwide and made DreamWorks Animation the production powerhouse it is today. The first film was followed by Shrek 2 in 2004, Shrek The Third in 2007 and Shrek Forever After in 2010. The film also had two spin-offs titled Puss in Boots which was released in 2011 and its sequel The Last Wish in 2022. The upcoming spin-off in the franchise will be Donkey.

Production of Shrek 5 has been in talks since 2018, as reported by Variety, however, Chris Meladandri was adamant about bringing the original cast for the movie. He stated that the vocal performance by the cast was a major factor in the success of all the previous instalments.