‘Shrek 5’ in the Works, Plus a Donkey Spinoff with Eddie Murphy, at Illumination

Ogres may be like onions, but Illumination Studios has found another layer of the “Shrek” story to peel back.

Illumination founder and CEO Chris Meledandri confirmed that the “Shrek” franchise is set to be rebooted, with offers out to the original cast comprising of Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, and Eddie Murphy.

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“We anticipate the cast coming back,” Meledandri told Variety. “Talks are starting now, and every indication that we’ve gotten is there’s tremendous enthusiasm on behalf of the actors to return.”

He added, citing the new “Super Mario Bros.” film, “It’s not that dissimilar to the process that we went through with ‘Mario,’ where you look at what the core elements are that audiences have loved, and you do your very best to honor those core elements. And then you’re hard at work to build story elements and new characters that take you to brand new places. The original cast is a huge part of that.”

Original star Murphy, who voiced Donkey in the films, previously said he would join “Shrek 5” in “two seconds” and pitched a Donkey spinoff instead of “Puss in Boots.”

Meledandri revealed he was “thrilled” to hear Murphy’s excitement to reprise the animated role.

“It’s evidence of his strong enthusiasm for a role that he so brilliantly inhabited and really created alongside the artists at DreamWorks. I found that comment to be very exciting,” Meledandri said, noting that Donkey will “without question” receive a spinoff.

“Shrek” debuted in 2001 and was followed by sequels in 2004, 2007, and 2010. Nicolas Cage revealed in 2013 that he was originally approached to voice the titular ogre prior to Myers being attached, while Jodie Comer threw her hat in the ring to join the reboot.

“They’re gonna bring out, like, the fifth one soon, right? I just want to be a voice,” Comer said during the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast. “I’m just ‘Shrek’ all the way.”

“Puss in Boots” actor Antonio Banderas teased an upcoming fifth film, saying in December 2022 that “Shrek” is “probably coming back” especially due to the success of the spin-off films (via Deadline).

“Shrek” star Diaz formerly retired in 2014. Her upcoming role in Netflix’s “Back in Action” marks her return to Hollywood, with the “Shrek 5” possible casting news following.

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