Shrek 5: Release date, cast and latest news

The previous film in the franchise – 2010's Shrek: Forever After – had initially been intended as the grand finale for the series, but even soon after that film's release, rumours started swirling that Mike Myers would one day return to voice Shrek once again.

And then, in 2024, a fifth film in the franchise was officially confirmed and a release date set, with the new instalment set to follow up on the hugely popular spin-off film Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.

The original voice cast are set to return, with DreamWorks Animation creative partner Chris Meledandri previously telling Variety: "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 honour 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."

He continued: "We anticipate the cast coming back. Talks are starting now, and every indication that we’ve gotten is there’s tremendous enthusiasm on behalf of the actors to return."

Here's everything you need to know about Shrek 5's troubled production, and when we could feasibly see the green ogre on screen again.

Shrek 5 release date

It's now been revealed that the film will be released in cinemas on Wednesday 23rd December 2026, a few months after the initially announced date.

Shrek 5 was officially confirmed in July 2024 following literally years of waiting and months of rumours – with a release date in Summer 2026 having being announced at that time before it was switched to the current date.

It's been almost 15 years since the last film in the franchise was released in 2010, after which Dreamworks had hinted that another film was possible – despite it being billed as the final film at the time. In 2016, Shrek 5 began development with Michael McCullers, the Austin Powers screenwriter, taken on to work on the script.

Shrek 5 was originally aiming for a 2019 release date, but despite the voice cast confirming a script had been written, it all went quiet. Then Eddie Murphy told CinemaBlend that a 2020 release was likely, but that was just an estimation and the year came and went.

The previous movies were released in 2001, 2004, 2007 and 2010 – so every three years.

Shrek 5 cast: Which characters will star?

Along with the release date, it was confirmed that Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz will all be returning to their roles as Shrek, Donkey and Fiona. We'd expect other cast members, including returning stars, to be announced in due course.

One of those who has not yet been confirmed is Antonio Banderas, who voices the iconic Puss in Boots. Given that the end of Puss in Boots: The Last Wish saw Puss returning to Far Far Away to visit some "old friends", we imagine it's only a matter of time until Banderas's return is confirmed.

Shrek 5 plot: What could happen?

Way back following the release of Shrek 2 in 2004, producer Jeffrey Katzenberg told IGN that Shrek was originally planned as a five-film series - and that in Shrek 5 "we will understand how Shrek came to be in that swamp, when we meet him in the first movie".

It seems that Shrek 5 was originally set to be a prequel that would be released in 2013, but it was decided during the production of Shrek Forever After that the fourth film was the perfect way for the lovable green ogre's journey to end.

Rumours of a fifth film following a rest persisted in the following years, but production on Shrek 5 didn't truly kick off until Comcast, the parent company of NBC Universal, purchased DreamWorks Animation for $3.8 billion back in 2016. NBC Universal chief Steve Burke spoke at the time about plans to revive the franchise and other DreamWorks films, and later that year it was reported that the film was set to release in 2019.

So far, so good - Eddie Murphy even confirmed that a script had already been written by Austin Powers screenwriter Michael McCullers, who told The Hollywood Reporter in March 2017 that his story was "a pretty big reinvention" for the series, prompting speculation that Shrek 5 would actually be a reboot.

Then in 2018 Variety reported that both Shrek 5 and Puss in Boots 2 would indeed be reboots - with the same voice cast however - and that Chris Meledandri, the brain behind Despicable Me, was looking after the revivals.

“The challenge for us has been to find something that really does feel like it’s not simply yet another film in a series of sequels," he said.

However, despite successful pre-production, radio silence followed - Shrek 5 obviously didn't make its 2019 release date.

Then, rumours started heating up again after the success of Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, which was released in 2022, and in 2023, Meledandri revealed work had begun on Shrek 5.

In June 2024, Eddie Murphy then also confirmed plans for the film, and for a Donkey spin-off, saying: "We started doing [Shrek 5] months ago. 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]. I think it's coming out in 2025."

When the film's release date was finally officially set in July 2024, it was announced that Walt Dohrn would direct the film, with Meledandri and Brad Ableson co-directing.

How to watch the previous Shrek movies

There are four movies in the Shrek franchise. You can get all four in a boxset here, which includes the following movies:

• Shrek (2001)
• Shrek 2 (2004)
• Shrek The Third (2007)
• Shrek: Forever After - The Final Chapter (2010)

Read more:

• Puss in Boots director teases potential sequel: 'The fans want it'
• Harry Potter TV series adapting books into 7 seasons 'nears deal'

Shrek 5 will be released on Wednesday 23rd December 2025.

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