Shrek 5

Shrek 5
General information
Title	Shrek 5
Length
Release Date	December 23, 2026
Release on DVD
Genre	Fantasy/Comedy
Production information
Directed by	Walt Dohrn Conrad Vernon
Produced by	Gina Shay Chris Meledandri
Starring	Mike Myers Eddie Murphy Cameron Diaz
Preceded by: Succeeded by: Puss in Boots: The Last Wish Shrek 5 N/A
—

Shrek 5 is an upcoming American computer-animated fantasy comedy produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Universal Pictures. It is the fifth installment of the Shrek franchise and will be released on December 23, 2026- over 25 years after the first Shrek film was released.

Synopsis

TBD

Cast

• Mike Myers as Shrek
• Eddie Murphy as Donkey
• Cameron Diaz as Princess Fiona

Development

Following the success of Shrek 2 in May 2004, Jeffrey Katzenberg revealed that the Shrek story had been outlined into five films almost from the beginning. After the release of Shrek the Third in 2007, Katzenberg announced that the fifth film would be released in 2013 following the fourth film's 2010 release.

In May 2009, DreamWorks Animation (DWA) announced that the fourth film's title would be Shrek Forever After, indicating that it would be the last in the Shrek series. Later in 2009, that was confirmed by Bill Damaschke, head of creative production at DWA, with him saying: "All that was loved about Shrek in the first film is brought to the final film."

In a 2014 interview with Fox Business Network, Katzenberg hinted that the fifth film could still be made. "We like to let them have a little bit of time to rest," he said of the characters. "But I think you can be confident that we'll have another chapter in the Shrek series. We're not finished, and more importantly, neither is he."

Then, following the sale in 2016 of DreamWorks Animation to NBCUniversal, a part of Comcast, DreamWorks announced it would continue releasing "at least two films" per year. The first two films were planned to have been Shrek 5 and Edgar Wright's Shadows, a different take on the scrapped animated feature, Me and My Shadow.^[1] In an interview with Mike Mitchell and Walt Dohrn, they revealed that Michael McCullers would write the story.^[2] McCullers claimed the script to be "very personal" and "a big reinvention of the franchise." Eddie Murphy was also confirmed to have read the script, and claimed the film would release sometime between 2019 to 2020. Both projects eventually went silent, with Shrek 5 presumably shelved once again.

On November 6, 2018, it was revealed in a Variety interview with Chris Meledandri, the founder and CEO of Illumination, that Shrek 5 and a Puss in Boots sequel were in active development. Rumors circulated that he was looking to reboot the franchise with the original cast returning. Five years later on April 2023, Chris Meledandri confirmed that the fifth film was still being discussed, with Myers, Murphy and Cameron Diaz in talks to reprise their roles.

On June 24th, 2024, an interview with Eddie Murphy promoting Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F gave updates on the state of Shrek 5. According to Murphy, he had "finished recording act one" of the film, and was estimating a 2025 release window. This brought back legitimacy to the previous claim on the infamous LinkedIn leak regarding the schedule. No further details were given at this time, with the exception of confirmation that the rumored Donkey spin-off film was put in active development.^[3]

On July 9th, 2024, a teaser animation of a '5' number with ogre ears was revealed on social media platforms such as X and Instagram by DreamWorks and Universal. A release date of July 1, 2024 was shown along with confirmation that Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz would reprise their roles. Walt Dohrn was also revealed as director, working alongside Minions: The Rise of Gru co-director, Brad Ableson. Shrek Forever After producer Gina Shay will also return for Shrek 5 as producer.

On January 10th, 2025, the film was delayed to a December 23, 2026 release to make room for a third Minions film. That same day, news outlet Deadline also confirmed that Conrad Vernon would join the directing team.

Trivia

• It is the first mainline Shrek installment to not have a worldwide release in May.
• This is the first non-Illumination film produced by Chris Meledandri since 1994's Trial by Jury.
• The film will reunite Mike Myers and screenwriter Michael McCullers, both of whom worked on the Austin Powers sequels.
• One of Chris Meledandri's previous projects, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, served as major inspiration for the film's outcome.
• Harvey Guillén and John Lithgow have expressed interest in reprising their roles as Perrito and Lord Farquaad respectively. It is unknown if they are actually involved in the film.

References