Universal Pictures has announced a slight delay for Shrek 5, moving its release from its original date to December 23, 2026. This shift allows Minions 3, a spin-off from the Despicable Me franchise, to take over the original slot on July 1, 2026, aligning with the tradition of Despicable Me films capitalizing on the Independence Day box office.

Shrek 5 was first announced back in 2016, but progress seemed to stall until Chris Meledandri, CEO of Illumination, confirmed its active development in 2023. Alongside Shrek 5, Meledandri expressed interest in developing a spin-off featuring Donkey. Eddie Murphy, who voices Donkey, further fueled excitement by confirming that Shrek 5 was well underway, stating, "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 film in 2001. Subsequent sequels, Shrek 2, Shrek the Third, and Shrek Forever After, were released in 2004, 2007, and 2010, respectively.

In addition to the main Shrek series, the franchise has expanded with the Puss in Boots spin-offs. The first Puss in Boots movie was released in 2011, followed by Puss in Boots: The Last Wish in 2022. The latter received widespread acclaim, earning 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."