It Looks Like Eddie Murphy Will Be Returning to the ‘Shrek’ Series

After a 13-year hiatus from the Shrek franchise, Eddie Murphy will reportedly return as Donkey in Shrek 5.

After a 13-year wait, Eddie Murphy is returning as the beloved Donkey in Shrek 5. This week, film company Illumination – who recently released the Super Mario Bros. Movie – shared that there will be follow-ups to the children’s film franchise, alongside sequels to Sing, Despicable Me, and Secret Life of Pets.

Illumination founder and CEO Chris Meledandri, who is also creative partner to DreamWorks Animation, shared that the film’s voice cast is in talks to join, including Murphy, Mike Myers and Cameron Diaz.

“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,” Meledandri said. “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.”

While no set deals are in place, Meledandri assures fans of Shrek that the original cast are likely to return. “We anticipate the cast coming back. Talks are starting now, and every indication that we’ve gotten is there’s tremendous enthusiasm on behalf of the actors to return,” he said.

Murphy, who recently starred in Netflix comedy You People, told ETalk in January that he’d be interested in receiving a Shrek spinoff like Puss In Boots.

“‘Shrek, I’d do it in two seconds. I love Donkey. They did  Puss in Boots movies,” he said. “I was like, ‘They should have done a Donkey movie.’ Donkey is funnier than Puss in Boots. I mean, I love Puss in Boots, but he ain’t funny as the Donkey.”

The fourth film of the Shrek franchise, 2010’s, Shrek Forever After, debuted as a top-grossing film at the box office, earning $756.2 million globally.