Shrek 5 Just Got a Disappointing Update (And Marvel Might Be To Blame)

It’ll be a bit longer before audiences are able to return to Shrek’s swamp. Universal and DreamWorks Animation have revealed on Monday that the highly anticipated sequel, Shrek 5, has been pushed back. The release date for the film has moved from December 2026, to the far, far away date of June 30, 2027. An official reasoning for the decision to push back the movie was not immediately confirmed. It is worth noting that the decision could have been inspired by its rival studios, which have found success with their animated offerings in the summertime when kids are out of school. Not to mention the recent delay of Avengers: Doomsday to a December 18th, 2026 release date.

Along with DreamWorks pushing back the release of Shrek 5, though, Universal has opted to move one of its own titles as a reaction. Illumination’s “Untitled Event Film” is now slated to hit theaters on April 16, 2027, instead of its original late June release date. The upcoming fifth installment of Shrek is set to release seventeen years after Shrek Forever After, and twenty-six years after the first installment of the hit franchise. The movie drew inspiration from the classic Happily Ever After stories, focusing on an ogre named Shrek and a band of fairytale characters. The first movie was a surprise box office smash, earning $484.94 million worldwide with a reported $60 million budget.

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The movie would earn three sequels with Shrek 2 in 2004, Shrek the Third in 2007, and Shrek Forever After in 2010. The second movie nearly doubled the first movie’s box office haul with $929 million worldwide, while the third and fourth movies took a slight stumble with $808.3 million and $752 million worldwide, respectively. Still, the movies did well enough that the franchise earned two spinoff movies with Puss in Boots in 2011 and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish in 2022. The first Puss in Boots movie was a modest success with $554.9 million worldwide at the box office, while the second movie pulled in $480.4 million worldwide.

Along with the films, the Shrek franchise has produced a few television specials, including Shrek the Halls and Scared Shrekless. The franchise continued its journey on the small screen with the television series Puss in Boots: The Adventures of Puss in Boots. While the Shrek franchise has continued to endure nearly thirty-years later, Shrek 5‘s new release date will see the animated film face some box office competition with its new date, thanks to Sony’s Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, which is currently schedule to arrive one week earlier than Shrek 5.

Shrek 5 will see the return of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz reprising their roles as Shrek, Donkey, and Fiona in the land of Far, Far Away. The film will also see in-demand actress Zendaya join the voice cast as Shrek and Fiona’s daughter, Felicia. The movie is being directed by franchise veterans Conrad Vernon and Walt Dohrn from a screenplay by Michael McCullers. Shrek 5 is now slated to hit the big screen on June 30, 2027. While fans wait for the return to Far, Far Away land, they can now stream the Shrek movies on Peacock.