Eddie Murphy just revealed he’s already started work on “Shrek 5” — the long-awaited follow-up to 2010’s “Shrek Forever After” — and that his wisecracking Donkey is getting his own standalone movie, too.
“I recorded the first act [of ‘Shrek 5’] and we’ll be doing it this year, we’ll finish it up,” the actor told Collider in an interview published on Monday. “Donkey’s gonna have his own movie. We’re gonna do Donkey as well.”
However, Murphy clarified he would not be working on both films at once, noting, “I started recording ‘Shrek,’ I think it’s coming out in 2025, and we’re doing a Donkey one next.”
Universal was not available for comment.
The actor has previously said that Donkey deserves his own movie. “You know, they did ‘Puss in Boots’ movies. I was like, ‘They should have did a Donkey movie. Donkey is funnier than Puss in Boots. I mean, I love Puss in Boots, but he ain’t funny as the Donkey,” Murphy told Etalk in January 2023.
In fact, Antonio Banderas’ cat has had two movies so far: “Puss in Boots” in 2011 and 2022’s “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.”
The DreamWorks franchise began with the original “Shrek” in 2001, with Mike Myers as the big green ogre and Cameron Diaz as his beloved Fiona, followed by “Shrek 2” and “Shrek the Third,” with “Shrek Forever After” as the fourth installment.
In addition, there’s a Christmas TV special “Shrek the Halls” and the 2010 Halloween special “Scared Shrekless.” The series “The Adventures of Puss in Boots” ran from 2015 to ’18 and originally debuted on Netflix, but is now streaming on Peacock.
Elsewhere, Murphy has another long-in-the-works sequel up next: “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F.” The fourth film in the comedy series that started in 1987 premieres July 3 on Netflix.
Collider first reported this story.
