A Donkey-focused spin-off for the Shrek franchise is in the works, according to Eddie Murphy.
The actor and comedian has voiced the titular ogre’s loveable sidekick since the first 2001 film, and is due to return for Shrek 5 next year.
However, Murphy has now confirmed in a new interview that a Donkey film is on the way after that, which begins work in September.
Revealing they are currently “still in the booth” for the fifth Shrek film, he told ScreenRant: “We’re doing a Donkey one, and that’ll be three years from now, but we’re about two years into Shrek 5. Still in the booth and about to start Donkey in September.”
The star further teased that the film will be like the Puss in Boots spin-off movies, explaining: “Donkey’s going to have his own movie, own little story with his dragon wife and his kids that are half-dragon and half-donkeys.
“They’ve written this funny story. We’re doing that, starting that in September.”
Murphy will return for Shrek 5 alongside fellow regular stars Mike Myers and Cameron Diaz, who are back as Shrek and Fiona, while Zendaya joins the voice cast as their daughter.
The first teaser for the sequel, which features the characters looking into the magic mirror at meme-inspired comic images of Shrek, proved divisive over the new character designs. One suggested that it was “disrespectful to the original art style”, while another wrote: “Just saw the new animation for shrek 5. Just cancel the whole thing at this point”.
“Why does the animation look like an AI interpretation of what Shrek 5 could look like,” a third poster added.
The film will be the first main franchise entry since 2010’s Shrek Forever After, and the first movie since spin-off Puss in Boots: The Last Wish – the latter of which proved a critical and commercial success upon its release in 2022.
