Eddie Murphy has begun recording for the fifth Shrek movie, which is expected to arrive more than 13 years after the release of the franchise’s last entry, Shrek Forever After.
It was reported last year that Shrek 5 was in the works with original cast members Murphy, Mike Myers and Cameron Diaz returning. However, nothing had been confirmed until now.
In a new interview with Collider, Murphy, who is the voice of Shrek’s (Myers) happy-go-lucky companion, Donkey, shared that “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,” he said.
He also shared that his fan-favorite character is getting his own spin-off.
“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],” Murphy said.
The Beverly Hills Cop star, 61, clarified that they weren’t filming both simultaneously. “I started recording Shrek, I think it’s coming out in 2025,” he explained. “And we’re doing a Donkey one next.”
The Independent has contacted DreamWorks Animations for additional comment.
Shrek debuted to critical acclaim in 2001. The movie follows the adventures of a curmudgeonly ogre, Shrek, who teams up with a talking donkey, Donkey, to rescue their kingdom’s princess (Diaz).
The family comedy returned with its Shrek 2 sequel in 2004, followed by Shrek the Third in 2007 and Shrek Forever After in 2010.
The franchise has since released two successful Puss and Boots spin-offs: Puss and Boots (2011) and Puss and Boots: The Last Wish (2022), which center on Antonio Banderas’s suave, smooth-talking feline from Shrek 2.
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Last January, Murphy called for Donkey to receive his own spin-off, telling Canadian news site Etalk: “They did Puss in Boots movies, they should have [done] a Donkey movie. Donkey is funnier than Puss in Boots.
“I mean, I love Puss in Boots, but he ain’t as funny as Donkey!” he laughed.
Months later, Chris Meledandri, the founder of Illumination, who is working alongside DreamWorks to revive the hit franchise, excitedly reacted to Murphy’s comments, saying: “It’s evidence of his strong enthusiasm for a role that he so brilliantly inhabited and really created alongside the artists at DreamWorks.”
He added there was “no question” that a Donkey standalone film would be a success.
