As Shrek 5 is slated for 2027, DreamWorks announces the next spin-off in the saga, centered on a famous supporting character.
The sharp wave of nostalgia sweeping Hollywood to imitate past successes hasn’t spared DreamWorks, the animation studio co-founded by Steven Spielberg. After enjoyed a major run from 2001 to 2010 with its hero Shrek (four films, nearly $3 billion in worldwide box office on a combined budget estimated between $505 and $535 million), the company was supposed to close the saga for good (Shrek 4 was titled Shrek Forever After).
Yet, in 2022, the studio took a first step by delivering a sequel to the 2011 spin-off Puss in Boots with Puss in Boots 2: The Last Wish. Now, a fifth Shrek is slated for June 2027. And the Shrek universe won’t stop there, as DreamWorks and Universal have also announced work on another spin-off focused on a different character, with the film’s release date now known.
THE DONKEY 2028
Reported by Variety, Universal and DreamWorks have (already) locked in a very specific release date for the film, currently titled Donkey, which will center on the Donkey. The spin-off will thus hit U.S. theaters on June 30, 2028. No date has been announced yet for France, but one can guess it will arrive midweek, likely opening the Wednesday before (June 30, 2028 falls on a Friday), perhaps on June 28, 2028.
Will it be an origin story about the chatterbox of a donkey? As Variety sums it up in a cheeky line, the film will tell how “a donkey became the Donkey”. Yet, according to statements from Eddie Murphy dating to 2025, the script would instead focus on the Donkey’s family life with his wife Dragon and their children. After all, it’s only in the first Shrek that the Donkey meets the one who becomes his wife, and it’s only at the end of the second film that the two become parents. So a backstory about the Donkey’s origins wouldn’t perfectly align with the actor’s and comedian’s initial description.
But the term “origin-story” also surfaces in a recent Deadline piece on the matter. Perhaps this new lead deserves more credit? Or perhaps the film will alternate between the hero’s present with his family and his past—the moment the animal first gained speech, perhaps? What we do know for certain is that the movie will be directed by Charlie Bean (The Lego Ninjago Movie) and Matt Flynn (layout artist on The Wild Robot, Puss in Boots 2 and The Bad Guys 2).
There’s little doubt we’ll learn more in the months ahead. In the meantime, Shrek 5 hits theaters on June 30, 2027.
