SHREK 5 With Original Cast, Donkey Spinofff With Eddie Murphy, SING and DESPICABLE ME Sequels All Teased

Illumination founder and CEO Chris Meledandri is juggling several new movies and sequels amid his upcoming highly-anticipated release this week, The Super Mario Bros. Movie. These new projects range from follow-ups to his Sing, Despicable Me and Secret Life of Pets franchises, as well as original movies like this fall’s Migration, the story of a family of ducks who live in a pond in New England and no longer have to migrate because the winters are milder.

Beyond running Illumination, Meledandri also serves as a creative partner to DreamWorks Animation as it looks to reboot the Shrek franchise. He told Variety that he would like to see the return of the film’s original voice cast (which includes Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz and Eddie Murphy) for Shrek 5.

Though no deals are in place, he said negotiations with the actors are going well. “We anticipate the cast coming back. Talks are starting now, and every indication that we’ve gotten is there’s tremendous enthusiasm on behalf of the actors to return,” he said.

Following the success of the 2022 Shrek spinoff sequel Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, Eddie Murphy said in January:

“If [DreamWorks] ever came with another ‘Shrek,’ I’d do it in two seconds. I love Donkey. They did ‘Puss in Boots’ movies. I was like, ‘They should have done a Donkey movie.’ Donkey is funnier than Puss in Boots. I mean, I love Puss in Boots, but he ain’t funny as the Donkey.”

Meledandri said he was “thrilled” when he read Murphy’s comments, adding:

“It’s evidence of his strong enthusiasm for a role that he so brilliantly inhabited and really created alongside the artists at DreamWorks. I found that comment to be very exciting.”

When asked if he thought Donkey was a character that could support its own film, similar to the fighting feline spinoffs starring Antonio Banderas, Meledandri answered, “Without question.”

Throughout his in-depth Variety interview, Meledandri also teased the other animated projects Illumination is cooking up. He’s looking for a fresh way to return to the world of dogs, cats, goldfish and all other forms of domesticated animals.

“We’re developing a couple of scripts in ‘The Secret Life of Pets’ world. While we’re not ready yet to start a film, we’re absolutely continuing to develop in that franchise. One of the stories that we’re developing involves one primary character from the first two films, but introduces a new set of characters. And then another story that we’re developing is the ensemble. So we’re looking at it from different angles.”

And Meledandri is also “deep into development” on Sing 3, a new installment of his hit series about a group of animals competing in a talent competition. “It will involve characters from the original cast, but it will take us into a new world,” he said.

I know my family will be stoked to see pretty much all of these projects move forward! What will you be exited to see?