‘Shrek’ fans finally have a release date for Eddie Murphy’s 'Donkey' spinoff
Eddie Murphy is all set to return to voice his favorite character, Donkey, from the ‘Shrek’ franchise. The beloved character from the franchise will soon get his own movie, and fans are over the moon. Titled ‘Donkey,’ the film will premiere on June 30, 2028, with Murphy reprising the role he has been voicing since 2001, when ‘Shrek’ hit the big screens. The highly anticipated spinoff will feature the character’s origin story, which fans are curious about. Charlie Bean will be taking the reins as director alongside Matt Flynn, while Rebecca Huntley will serve as producer. Charlie is known for his work on ‘The Lego Ninjago Movie,’ while Flynn's credits include ‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish’, ‘The Bad Guys 2’, ‘The Wild Robot,’ and more.
Eddie Murphy, during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter on November 12, 2025, spoke about his character in the franchise. "I’ve always said I would do Shrek forever. Donkey is a great character to play. I love the whole cast. So I was excited when it was like, ‘Hey, they’re doing another one,’" he said. He also hinted at the upcoming spinoff, adding, "They want to do a ‘Donkey’ one, too. I’m totally into it." The long-running animation franchise has a massive fanbase who enjoys the fairy tale world based on William Steig’s 1990 picture book, ‘Shrek!’ Another upcoming project is ‘Shrek 5’ featuring Zendaya, along with Mike Myers voicing the ogre, Murphy playing Donkey, and Cameron Diaz as Princess Fiona.
2010's ‘Shrek Forever After’ gained massive recognition and led to two popular spinoffs, ‘Puss in Boots’ and ‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.’ The two movies together earned over $1 billion at the box office, raising the total earnings of the ‘Shrek’ universe to $4 billion. Interestingly, ‘Shrek’ (2001) was the project that won the first-ever Animated Feature Oscar, and it also conducted several live shows. It became an award-winning Broadway musical as well and earned eight Tony Award nominations.
The news about the new film, 'Donkey,' comes ahead of the release of 'Shrek 5,' which is set to hit theaters on June 30, 2027. The franchise first introduced Donkey with a brief glimpse of a woman selling him to Duloc officials. The nature of her relationship with Donkey and why she sold him were never explained. The upcoming movie, based on his origin, will likely explore those unanswered questions and reveal more about his backstory.
