Donkey in 2004's 'Shrek 2.' DreamWorks/Courtesy Everett Collection Eddie Murphy‘s beloved Donkey from the Shrek franchise is getting his own adventure, presumably involving waffles.
Universal Pictures announced Thursday that the studio is set to release Donkey theatrically June 30, 2028. Murphy will return for the DreamWorks Animation feature to voice the character that he has played since the original Shrek hit theaters in 2001.
Donkey returns audiences to to a land Far, Far Away in telling the adventure-seeking title character’s origin story. Charlie Bean, known for helming The Lego Batman Movie, is directing the prequel movie that counts Matt Flynn as co-director. Rebecca Huntley serves as producer.
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This is the latest good news for fans of the long-running animation franchise that explores the fairy tale world and is loosely based on William Steig’s 1990 picture book, Shrek! Hitting theaters next summer, Shrek 5 sees Zendaya joining the voice cast that includes returnees Mike Myers as the titular misunderstood ogre, Murphy as his best pal Donkey and Cameron Diaz as Princess Fiona.
The Shrek series’ four theatrical movies have surpassed $2.9 billion at the global box office, with the most recent title being 2010’s Shrek Forever After. It also spawned two spinoff movies centered on Antonio Banderas’ Puss in Boots, with Puss in Boots: The Last Wish arriving in 2022.
Murphy teased the Donkey-focused project late last year during a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter.
“I’ve always said I would do Shrek forever,” the star said at the time. “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,’ and they want to do a Donkey one, too. I’m totally into it.”
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