Universal Pictures and DreamWorks Animation have officially dated Donkey, a Shrek universe spinoff built around Eddie Murphy’s fast-talking sidekick. The film arrives in theaters Friday, June 30, 2028.
Murphy returns to voice the character he has played since the original Shrek landed in 2001. Donkey is positioned as an origin story, tracing how an ordinary donkey became the chatty, needy companion fans have followed across four mainline films. The premise gives DreamWorks room to build a standalone adventure around a character who has always operated as comic support rather than lead.
Charlie Bean is directing. His credits include The Lego Ninjago Movie and the live-action Lady and the Tramp. Matt Flynn co-directs, coming off story artist work on The Wild Robot, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, and The Bad Guys 2. Rebecca Huntley, a producer on Kung Fu Panda 4 and The Bad Guys, produces.
The announcement slots Donkey one year behind Shrek 5, which Universal and DreamWorks have set for June 30, 2027. That film reunites Mike Myers, Murphy, and Cameron Diaz in their signature roles as Shrek, Donkey, and Fiona, with Zendaya joining the voice cast as one of Shrek’s children. Washington Times reports franchise veterans Walt Dohrn and Conrad Vernon are directing Shrek 5, a detail not yet confirmed by other outlets.
Murphy has been teasing a Donkey-centered project for more than a year. Speaking with ScreenRant last summer, he described a story involving Donkey’s dragon wife and their half-dragon, half-donkey children, and said the team had written something funny around that family. He returned to the idea in a separate conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, saying he had always been willing to keep playing the role and was glad the studio wanted a Donkey movie of its own.
The timing reflects how durable the franchise has stayed. The four core Shrek films have grossed roughly $2.9 billion worldwide, with Shrek Forever After closing the original run in 2010. The two Puss in Boots spinoffs pushed the broader universe well past $3 billion, and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish proved in 2022 that DreamWorks could spin a side character into a critical and commercial win. Donkey follows that same playbook, betting that a beloved sidekick can carry a feature on his own.
Shrek itself remains a cultural anchor. The first film won the inaugural Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and has since spawned a touring stage show, a Tony-nominated Broadway musical, and ongoing attractions at Universal parks. Stacking Shrek 5 and Donkey in back-to-back summers gives Universal a two-year animation tentpole strategy heading into the late 2020s.
No casting beyond Murphy has been announced for Donkey, and plot specifics remain under wraps outside the origin-story framing and Murphy’s earlier comments.
Sources: Variety, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, Washington Times
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