Shrek 5 is officially a go, with Universal and DreamWorks Animation announcing that the storied franchise will return on July 1, 2026. Stars Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz will return 25 years after the original Shrek hit theaters.
The feature has long been in development and will arrive 16 years after previous entry, Shrek Forever After, which bowed in 2010 and earned $752.6 million globally.
Walt Dohrn will direct after working as a writer on the second and third films, and as head of story on the fourth film. Minions: The Rise of Gru co-director Brad Ableson will co-direct, with Shrek Forever After producer Gina Shay and Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri producing.
The Shrek film franchise began life under Jeffrey Katzenberg’s tutelage with the 2001 film that was praised for its animation style and for playing with fairy-tale tropes. It centered on an ogre named Shrek (Myers), who falls for Fiona (Diaz), the princess of Far Far Away who has been cursed, trapped in the body of an ogre. Donkey (Murphy) provided comic relief, pathos and friendship to Shrek. The film earned a massive $492.2 million globally, not adjusted for inflation, and won the Oscar for best animated feature (and helped immortalize the band Smash Mouth for a generation of viewers).
The series, based on William Steig’s book, was hugely successful for DreamWorks, which was then led by Katzenberg. The Shrek empire, including a pair of feline-focused Puss in Boots spinoffs, is the second-biggest animated franchise of all time at the box office, grossing $2.9 billion globally. It has also spawned a touring show and a Broadway musical.
In 2022, sequel Puss in Boots: The Last Wish earned a better-than-expected $481.5 million at the worldwide box office in a win for DreamWorks Animation in the post-Katzenberg era (he sold his company to NBCUniversal for a hefty $3.8 billion in 2016).
News of Shrek 5 comes as the family box office make a long-awaited rebound following the pandemic. Universal and Illumination’s Despicable Me 4 is off to an impressive start at the summer box office, while Disney and Pixar’s summer tentpole Inside Out 2 is already among the top-grossing animated films of all time.