Universal Pictures has recently announced a shift in the release schedule for two of its highly anticipated animated films. Shrek 5 has been pushed back to December 23, 2026, aiming to capture the lucrative holiday box office. Meanwhile, the Despicable Me spin-off, Minions 3, will take over the original slot of Shrek 5 and is set to premiere on July 1, 2026. This move keeps the tradition alive for Despicable Me films, which have historically performed well during the Independence Day weekend.
The announcement of Shrek 5 first came in 2016, but it wasn't until 2023 that Chris Meledandri, CEO of Illumination, confirmed the project was actively in development. Alongside Shrek 5, there were also hints of a potential Donkey spin-off. Eddie Murphy, the voice behind Donkey, further fueled the excitement by confirming the progress of Shrek 5 and the Donkey project. He revealed, "We started doing [Shrek 5] months ago. I did this, I recorded the first act, and we'll be doing it this year. We'll finish it up. Shrek is coming out, and Donkey's gonna have his own movie. We're gonna do Donkey as well."
The release of Shrek 5 will coincide with the 25th anniversary of the Shrek franchise, which began with the original Shrek in 2001. Subsequent sequels, Shrek 2, Shrek the Third, and Shrek Forever After, followed in 2004, 2007, and 2010, respectively. The franchise has also expanded with the Puss in Boots spin-offs, with the first released in 2011 and the critically acclaimed Puss in Boots: The Last Wish in 2022. The latter received glowing reviews, including a 9/10 from IGN, which praised it as "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish mixes stunning animation with a poignant, surprisingly mature story to deliver the Shrek franchise's answer to Logan we didn't know we needed."
