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By Movieguide® Staff
DreamWorks and Universal are giving Shrek’s most talkative companion the star treatment. The studios announced Wednesday that DONKEY — a spinoff in the long-running SHREK universe — will arrive in theaters on June 30, 2028, with Eddie Murphy returning to voice the character who has been cracking audiences up since the original movie hit screens in 2001.
Murphy confirmed the movie last year, telling reporters that production was set to begin in the fall. The new movie is built as an origin story — specifically, the tale of how a donkey became Donkey — following the same spinoff playbook that launched the PUSS IN BOOTS franchise.
Director Charlie Bean will helm DONKEY; his credits include THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE and the 2019 live-action remake of LADY AND THE TRAMP, which gives him solid footing in both animation and family territory. Rebecca Huntley, producer of KUNG FU PANDA 4 and THE BAD GUYS, is producing. Matt Flynn co-directs, bringing story artist experience from THE WILD ROBOT and PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH.
DONKEY does not arrive alone. SHREK 5 lands first, scheduled for summer 2027, with Mike Myers, Murphy and Cameron Diaz back as Shrek, Donkey, and Fiona. Zendaya joins the cast for the fifth installment, which franchise veterans Conrad Vernon and Walt Dohrn direct.
The original SHREK opened in 2001 to nearly $500 million globally and made history as the first animated movie to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. Three sequels followed — SHREK 2 (2004), SHREK THE THIRD (2007), and SHREK FOREVER AFTER (2010) — along with two PUSS IN BOOTS spinoffs. The franchise has proven remarkably durable for more than 25 years.
Movieguide® has recognized the franchise’s family value across multiple galas. SHREK FOREVER AFTER ranked fifth on Movieguide®’s Ten Best Movies for Families list at the 19th Annual Movieguide® Faith & Values Awards Gala in 2011. The franchise’s spinoff PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH earned enthusiastic coverage from Movieguide® in 2023 and was recognized for its strong family content at the 31st Annual Movieguide® Awards Gala.
The SHREK franchise has always done something genuinely worthwhile: it takes family storytelling seriously. The themes of belonging, friendship, and the misfit who discovers where he fits run through every installment without being preachy about it. Donkey, with his relentless optimism and loyal heart, has anchored much of that emotional core for a quarter century.
Whether an origin story can carry that same weight solo is the real question. Donkey has always been at his best in relationship — with Shrek, with Dragon, with his chaotic half-dragon, half-donkey kids. The filmmakers will need to build a world around him that feels as alive as the one he has spent two decades walking out of.
Two summers to find out. DONKEY opens June 30, 2028.
Read Next: SHREK 5 Premiere Date Gets Pushed to June 2027
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