Following more than a decade of the franchise lying dormant, Shrek 5's release date has been confirmed, bringing back its fan-favorite cast along the way.
Starring A-list actors like Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy, the Shrek film series introduced audiences to a rib-tickling animated world that cleverly played on the fairy tale and fable characters they grew up on.
Since its debut in 2001, the mainline Shrek films have raked in over $3 billion at the worldwide box office (per Box Office Mojo). However, the road to a potential fifth film starring Dreamworks' swamp-dweller has been an arduous one, with the last proper Shrek movie coming out in 2010.
The Confirmed Actors in Shrek 5
It has been a long time coming, but the release of Shrek 5 has been officially announced with its core cast all signed on to come back.
As revealed in a social media post by Dreamworks Animation, the curtain was pulled back on the upcoming animated sequel.
The short video posted on X (formerly Twitter) revealed the film will be released on July 1, 2026, and that stars of the franchise Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, and Eddie Murphy will reprise their roles from the past four movies:
Mike Myers - Shrek
A-list actor Mike Myers returns to the swamp in Shrek 5 as the franchise's figurehead and titular ogre, Shrek. The last fans saw of Myers' hilariously vile beast he had become a family man, settling down with Cameron Diaz's Princess Fiona and having a set of triplets.
Myers has long been on board with the idea of doing a fifth Shrek film. In fact, in 2022, he went as far as to say, "If I had to do one Shrek [movie] a year, I’d be thrilled" (via GQ):
"There’s an emotional center there. You know the old joke: I wouldn’t want to be a member of a club that would have me as a member. I have always felt that way. The concept of going from a self-loathing ogre to a self-accepting ogre was meaningful to me. I love playing Shrek. If I had to do one 'Shrek' a year I’d be thrilled."
The Canadian funnyman has been a part of the franchise since the very beginning, so it is no surprise he is back to bring life to its iconic namesake.
Myers will be familiar to fans for his work on Saturday Night Live in the late 1980s and early 1990s, as well as his time playing leading roles in films like Austin Powers and Wayne's World.
Cameron Diaz - Princess Fiona
It may be surprising to some, but Princess Fiona actress Cameron Diaz will also reprise her role for the 2026 Shrek sequel.
Fiona - a princess who has embraced a curse put upon her that turned her into an ogre - has warmed to oger-dom across the series' first four films. She married Shrek and now has a trio of triplets with Mike Myers' lovable galoot.
Why Diaz's involvement in the movie may shock some, is the fact that the actress has not been seen or heard from in Hollywood for nearly a decade at this point. Following a string of box office flops in the early 2010s, Diaz announced she was taking a hiatus from acting and may never return to the big screen.
However, she is back in front of the camera again with her grand return to theaters expected later this year in Back in Action (which is set to debut in November).
Despite having been away from the movie industry for several years, Diaz's involvement in Shrek 5, in particular, never seemed to be in question.
In an April 2023 interview with Variety, Illumination Entertainment founder and CEO Chris Meledandri (whose company has become close partners with Dreamworks and Universal) said they were working on the film, and he expected "the cast [to come] back:"
“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."
While Meledandri never outright said Diaz's name, given her importance to the franchise, one can assume this assertion included the Vanilla Sky and The Mask star.
Eddie Murphy - Donkey
Joining Mike Myers and Cameron Diaz as a part of Shrek 5 will, of course, be Eddie Murphy as Shrek's hilarious sidekick, Donkey.
After saving him from being imprisoned with other characters from fairy tale lore in the first Shrek movie, Donkey has ingratiated himself with Shrek, serving up wisecracks on all of their many adventures and falling in love with a giant, scaly dragon.
Of the core trio of Shrek mainstays, Murphy has been the most public about his involvement in a potential fifth movie.
His excitement for the film dates back to 2016, as he seemingly confirmed the movie was happening and was set to be released in 2019 or 2020 (via CinemaBlend):
They took a nice long break [after 2010's 'Shrek Forever After].' The next 'Shrek' ... I think Jeffrey [Katzenberg, producer] told me 2019? 2019 or 2020, it will be ready. But they've got a good script, they wrote a nice good script."
He added, at the time, that any movie franchise as big as Shrek will surely keep going "until the audience says 'no more:'"
"Anything that's been as successful as 'Shrek,' anything that people really like, they're always going to make those movies. They don't stop making those types of movies until the audience says 'no more!' If it's been successful you'll see another 'Toy Story,' and 'Shrek' is one of those movies."
Murphy would then follow this up in 2023 - after news on the film had gone quiet. In a conversation in January of that year, the Coming to America star would tell E-Talk, "I'd do it in two seconds" when asked about Shrek 5:
"I'd absolutely be open. If they ever came with another 'Shrek,' I'd do it in two seconds. I love Donkey. They have to want to do it. DreamWorks, if you all want to do it, just call me. I'm ready. I'm sitting and ready to do Donkey."
Then, mere days before news of the film's release date (and casting info) was made public, the Donkey actor would again give the first real indication of where the film stood in production, inadvertently confirming he was involved.
While promoting his film Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley in July 2024, Murphy revealed to Collider he had started work on "[Shrek 5] four or five months ago:"
"We started doing 'Shrek' four or five months ago. I recorded the first act, and we'll be doing it this year, we'll finish it up. Another 'Shrek' is coming out, and Donkey's gonna have his own (spin-off) movie."
Murphy is best known for his work in Beverly Hills Cop, The Nutty Professor, Dreamgirls, and Mulan.
Other Actors That Could Appear in Shrek 5
While it is exciting to see the core trio of the Shrek franchise back for Shrek 5, there will surely be a few other names that will come up in the conversation when talking about who could round out this cast.
The biggest (and furriest) of these is Antonio Banderas' Puss in Boots. Banderas' feline swordsman has been a part of the series dating back to Shrek 2 and has even gone on to star in a pair of spin-off films centered specifically on him.
Banderas (and, in turn, Puss) has not been confirmed to appear in Shrek 5, but unverified rumors have said the Spanish actor will not be a part of the film. However, he could potentially come back in a Shrek 6 should it happen.
The reasoning behind this remains unknown, but it could have something to do with Dreamworks and Universal perhaps having plans for the Puss in Boots character outside the mainline Shrek films, maybe even in a third movie of his own.
Other characters that could come back in the film include Conrad Vernon's hilariously melancholic Gingerbread Man, Cody Cameron's worrywart Pinocchio, and Christopher Knights' charming Three Blind Mice among others from this animated fairy tale world.
Shrek 5 is set to come to theaters on July 1, 2026.
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