Shrek 5's release date is officially announced as Eddie Murphy, Mike Myers and Cameron Diaz will return for fifth installment in DreamWorks animated franchise
- Franchise veteran Walt Dohrn is slated to direct the film
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- READ MORE: Murphy began working on sequel five months ago
Shrek 5's release date of July 1, 2026 was officially announced Tuesday by DreamWorks, indicating that franchise staples Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz will all return for the fifth installment in the series.
A post on X/Twitter from DreamWorks Animation on Tuesday read, 'Not too Far, Far Away… @Shrek 5 is coming to theaters on July 1, 2026 with Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, and Cameron Diaz.'
Myers, 61, provides the voice of Shrek; Murphy, 63, does the voice of Donkey; and Diaz, 51, will reprise her role of Princess Fiona in the motion picture.
It was not immediately clear if actor Antonio Banderas, 63, would be returning to the role of Puss in Boots for the film, Variety reported Tuesday.
Franchise veteran Walt Dohrn is slated to direct the film, as he was a writer-artist on 2004's Shrek 5 and 2007's Shrek the Third. He also worked as story head on 2010's Shrek Forever After, providing the voice of Rumpelstiltskin.
Shrek 5's release date of July 1, 2026 was officially announced Tuesday by DreamWorks
Franchise staples Mike Myers, 61, and Eddie Murphy, 63, will reprise their respective roles as Shrek and Donkey in the motion picture
Murphy last month told Collider that he 'started doing' work on the latest installment in the franchise 'months ago,' and plans were in the offing for a spinoff film for his Donkey character.
'I recorded the first act, and we'll be doing it this year, we'll finish it up,' the comedy icon told the outlet. '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' film.
The Shrek franchise has been a commercially successful and critically-acclaimed property for DreamWorks Animation for more than two decades, spawning four feature motion pictures and multiple spinoff projects.
The initial Shrek film arrived in theaters in May of 2001 and took in $487 million in worldwide box office, also claiming the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
Shrek 2, released in May of 2004, made $928 million worldwide and contended for the Cannes Film Festival's Palme d'Or prize, as did its predecessor.
Shrek the Third, released in May of 2007, made $813 million worldwide, while the latest feature film in the series, Shrek Forever After, took in $752 million worldwide following its May 2010 release.
Other films in the franchise have fared well in box office revenues: Puss in Boots, starring Banderas, took in $555 million worldwide following its October 2011 release, racking up an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature Film of the Year.
Cameron Diaz, 51, will reprise her role of Princess Fiona in the upcoming motion picture
The Shrek and Donkey characters were pictured in the 2010 motion picture Shrek Forever After
The Shrek franchise has been a commercially successful and critically-acclaimed property for DreamWorks Animation for more than two decades
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, released in December of 2022, made $484 million in box office revenue and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film.
The forthcoming motion picture is part of a long-term undertaking between Illumination founder Chris Meledandri (who is a producer on the movie) and Universal Pictures that began in late 2018, according to the outlet.
Meledandri, who has produced for animated franchises including Despicable Me and The Super Mario Bros. Movie, told the outlet in 2018 that an essential element to the franchise's success was the performances of the actors involved.
'When you look back on those vocal performances they're awesome,' Meledandri said, 'and while you certainly could make a case for a complete reinvention, I find myself responding to my own nostalgic feelings of wanting to go back to those characterizations.
'The challenge for us has been to find something that really does feel like it's not simply yet another film in a series of sequels.'
