Eddie Murphy is game for 'Shrek 5': 'I'd do it in 2 seconds' (original) (raw)
Eddie Murphy would bring back Donkey for potential Shrek 5: 'I'd do it in 2 seconds'
"DreamWorks, if you all want to do it, just call me. I'm ready. I'm sitting and ready to do Donkey."
Published on January 30, 2023 10:39AM EST
No tea, no shade to Puss in Boots, but Eddie Murphy doesn't understand why that Shrek character gets his own franchise while Donkey is left in the dust.
The actor was promoting his Netflix film You People in an interview with Etalk when the topic of a fifth Shrek came up. "I'd absolutely be open. If they ever came with another Shrek, I'd do it in two seconds," the comedian and actor said. "I love Donkey."
Murphy then joked about the Puss in Boots movies. The latest, Puss In Boots: The Last Wish, just earned an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Film.
Eddie Murphy says he's "ready" for more 'Shrek' and more Donkey. Everett Collection
"They did Puss in Boots movies. I was like, 'They should have did a Donkey movie,'" Murphy said. "Donkey is funnier than Puss in Boots. I mean, I love Puss in Boots, but he ain't funny as the Donkey." After a laugh, his more serious answer was, "I would do a Donkey movie. I would do another Shrek in two seconds."
The Oscar nominee said the fate of Shrek falls to animation studio DreamWorks. "They have to want to do it," he said. "DreamWorks, if you all want to do it, just call me. I'm ready. I'm sitting and ready to do Donkey."
Shrek became a hit when it was released in 2001 with Mike Myers as the voice of the titular green ogre, whose swamp was being overrun with displaced fairy tale creatures. Murphy voiced his best friend, a talking Donkey.
The franchise expanded to four films and various one-offs, like Shrek's Swamp Stories and Shrek's Thrilling Tales. Antonio Banderas made his debut in the franchise as the swashbuckling swordsmith Puss in 2004's Shrek 2 before getting his own movie with 2011's Puss in Boots.
At the Red Sea Festival in December, Banderas told Deadline that "Shrek is probably coming back." Of course, he could've been speculating.
There's been a lot of talk about Shrek 5 for years. Notably in 2016, the head of NBCUniversal, which had acquired DreamWorks at the time, said Chris Meledandri of Illumination "is creatively going to try to help us figure out how to resurrect Shrek and take a lot of the existing DreamWorks franchises and add value as we create new franchises." However, nothing concrete beyond the continuing Puss in Boots films has come out of that chatter.
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