Universal to suppress the sweet stench of Shrek 5 another six months

The fifth entry in the Oscar-winning animated series about a farting ogre has been delayed.

By Matt Schimkowitz  |  August 11, 2025 | 9:12pm
(Photo by Stuart Wilson/Getty Images)
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Universal to suppress the sweet stench of Shrek 5 another six months
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Despite inspiring what must be a successful line of Fleshlights, the Shrek franchise’s long-awaited return to the big screen has been hit with another delay. Per Deadline, Universal has moved the Oscar-winning ogre’s latest adventure in flatulence, Shrek 5, from December 23, 2026, to June 30, 2027, which might as well be forever after from now. But Shrek 5 wasn’t the only animated blockbuster on the move. Additionally, Universal has pushed up the release of an untitled Illumination project from June 30 to April 16.

The delay is surprising. Last week, Shrek star Eddie Murphy claimed that they were about to finish recording dialogue for the movie, and he’d begin work on Donkey, the eponymous spin-off about his beloved waffle-making ass, shortly thereafter. But the studio may want to avoid competing with itself by releasing two CG animated family comedies in the same season. That would be doubly true if the Illumination project were the studio’s much-anticipated Legend Of Zelda adaptation, which lives in a similar fantastical world as Shrek, sans farts.

It’s worth noting that Illumination’s Super Mario Bros. opened in April 2023. So if we were to take off our Super Mario Bros. hat and throw on our Super Speculation Bros. fedora, we might wonder if Universal sees the rainiest month as the perfect time to release any one of its rumored Nintendo adaptations, including “Untitled Donkey Kong Project.” Until then, Shrek is staying in the swamp, leaving fans to wonder how they ended up in a world where a Shrek-themed Fleshlight hit the market before Shrek 5 did.

 
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