Shrek 5 Working Hard to Bring Back Original Cast, Dreaming of Donkey Spin-Off

Illumination CEO and Despicable Me director Chris Meledandri has teased the return of the original cast for Shrek 5 as well as a Donkey spin-off film.

In an interview with Variety to talk about Illumination’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Meledandri said that DreamWorks Animation, where he serves as creative advisor, is seeking to reboot the Shrek franchise starting with Shrek 5, and is working hard to bring back the original voice cast of the iconic characters, including Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, and Cameron Diaz. No deals have been solidified, but he said negotiations are underway.

“We anticipate the cast coming back,” Meledandri said. “Talks are starting now, and every indication that we’ve gotten is there’s tremendous enthusiasm on behalf of the actors to return.”

“It’s not that dissimilar to the process that we went through with Mario, where you look at what the core elements are that audiences have loved, and you do your very best to honor those core elements,” he added. “And then you’re hard at work to build story elements and new characters that take you to brand new places. The original cast is a huge part of that.”

Meledandri said Eddie Murphy’s Donkey is “without question” a character that could anchor his own movie, and acknowledged that Murphy already expressed enthusiasm about doing another Shrek film back in January. At the time, Murphy told Canadian talk show ETalk that if DreamWorks Animation ever did another Shrek film, “I’d do it in two seconds. I love Donkey.”

He also commented that DreamWorks should’ve done a Donkey spin-off film, considering they already did two Puss in Boots films, the most recent release being Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, which Meledandri executive produced.

In 2016, Austin Powers screenwriter Michael McCullers was said to be writing the script for Shrek 5, based on an idea he came up with on his own. Two years later, Meledanari was tasked by Universal Pictures to oversee the soft reboots for Shrek and its spin-off films, serving as executive producer for both Shrek 5 and the Puss in Boots sequel.

Cristina Alexander is a freelance writer for IGN. She has contributed her work to various publications, including Digital Trends, TheGamer, Twinfinite, Mega Visions, and The Escapist. To paraphrase Calvin Harris, she wears her love for Sonic the Hedgehog on her sleeve like a big deal. Follow her on Twitter @SonicPrincess15.