Axel Foley isn’t the only iconic role of Eddie Murphy’s that he is reprising once again as he will return as Shrek‘s Donkey for not one but two films, including a Donkey spin-off of his own.
Shrek has long been one of Dreamworks Animation’s most recognizable and successful franchises. Released almost 25 years ago, Shrek followed the title character ogre and his fairytale friends through several adventures. The first film saw him meet Donkey as they set out on a quest to ‘save’ Shrek’s swamp by rescuing Princess Fiona from a locked tower guarded by a dragon. Dreamworks went on to produce three more Shrek films that introduced further beloved characters to audiences, including Puss in Boots who has starred in two-spin off films of his own.
Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz and Antonio Banderas have voiced their roles of Shrek, Donkey, Fiona and Puss in each of the films. The Shrek franchise has also starred John Cleese, Julie Andrews, John Lithgow, Jennifer Saunders, Rupert Everett, Conrad Vernon, Justin Timberlake and Walt Dohrn among many others.
In an interview with Collider, Murphy revealed Shrek 5 is already several months into production having completed some voice recordings and will continue recording this year.
“We started doing Shrek 4 or [Shrek] 5 months ago,” Murphy said. “I did this, I recorded the first act, and we’ll be doing it this year, we’ll finish it up. 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].”
As for Donkey’s spin-off, Murphy clarified that it will come sometime after Shrek 5 as both films are being worked on separately. “No, not at the same time. I started recording Shrek, I think it’s coming out in 2025, and we’re doing a Donkey one next.”
We’ll have to wait for more information on Shrek 5 as it looks for a 2025 release date as well as further news about Donkey. In the meantime, Murphy will be seen next in Beverly Hills Cops: Axel F when it releases on Netflix next week.
Ricky Church – Follow me on Twitter for more movie news and nerd talk.
