With “Shrek 5” set for release next summer, Universal and DreamWorks plan to keep mining the 2000s animated franchise with “Donkey,” an origin story prequel about Shrek’s wisecracking “noble steed,” who will be voiced as always by Eddie Murphy.
“Donkey” has been set for release on June 30, 2028. Charlie Bean (“The Lego Batman Movie”) will direct with Rebecca Huntley producing and veteran DreamWorks story artist Matt Flynn co-directing.
“Donkey” will be the eighth film in the “Shrek” franchise, which has also spawned two “Puss in Boots” spinoff films. Combined, the franchise has earned more than $3.5 billion at the global box office since it launched in 2001 and is expected to pass $4 billion when “Shrek 5” hits theaters in summer 2027.
Having already expanded his comedic talents to voice acting by playing Mushu in Disney’s “Mulan” three years prior, Murphy was a major contributor to the success of “Shrek,” which grossed $494 million worldwide and became the inaugural recipient of the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
In “Shrek,” Murphy played a talking, wisecracking donkey simply known as Donkey, who got on the reclusive green ogre’s nerves but quickly won over audiences worldwide, particularly after an early scene shown in the film’s trailer where, after Shrek reluctantly allows Donkey to stay at his home, he declares that “in the morning…I’m making waffles!“
“Donkey” joins a DreamWorks slate that, along with “Shrek 5,” includes the original film “Forgotten Island” coming this September, a live-action/CGI remake of “How to Train Your Dragon 2” in summer 2027, and a feature adaptation of the children’s series “Cocomelon” in February.
