At last, it’s waffle time.

That’s the only food fit for an occasion like this one: The official announcement of a spinoff film for Shrek’s beloved wisecracking sidekick Donkey. Universal announced the film is in the works, from The LEGO Ninjago Movie director Charlie Bean, and expected in theaters on June 30, 2028 — one year after the revival of the main Shrek franchise with the upcoming sequel Shrek 5.

Eddie Murphy will once again voice Donkey in both films.

The main difference between the two projects: Shrek 5 is a sequel, while Donkey will apparently be a prequel about the character’s origin. (He wasn’t just born a donkey?)

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It’s been years since Eddie Murphy first started floating the idea of getting Donkey his own solo film separate from Shrek. (There’s an article about this in the ScreenCrush archive three and a half years ago.) Such a spinoff is not without precedent; Puss in Boots has had two solo films after appearing in the second, third, and fourth Shreks.

Despite the fact that Donkey was one of the series’ original breakout stars — and despite Murphy’s mega-star status as his voice — the character never got his own spinoff until now.

In the meantime, Shrek 5 is scheduled to open in theaters on June 30, 2027. In addition to Murphy, the sequel also features the voices of Mike Myers as Shrek, Cameron Diaz as Fiona, and Zendaya as their daughter Felicia.

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