‘Shrek 5’ Delayed To December 2026, ‘Minions 3’ Moves Up One Year
Two of Universal’s most profitable animated franchises have received new release dates for 2026.
Despite being one of the most beloved animated franchises to date, it took Universal over a decade to greenlight the sequel to Shrek Forever After and now it seems we may have to wait a little longer for Shrek 5. The film, directed by Walt Dohrn and Conrad Vernon, will now be delayed from its initial July 2026 release date to the holiday season, December 23, 2026.
Shrek 5 is currently one of the most anticipated releases from 2026, with franchise stars Mike Myers (Cat in the Hat, Austin Powers), Eddie Murphy (Beverly Hills Cop), and Cameron Diaz (Knight & Day) all returning to star in the fifth instalment.
Replacing it will be another Universal tentpole, this time from Illumination with Minions 3 moving up a year from June 30, 2027 to July 1, 2026. The move will likely take advantage of the chokehold the Despicable Me and Minions franchises have over the Independence Day weekend, with Despicable Me 4 only debuting last year to a whopping $230M globally. It went on to gross a worldwide total of $969.1 million, becoming the third-highest-grossing film at the 2024 box office.
The last Minions film, Minions: Rise of Gru, was one of the biggest releases of 2022 and followed Gru (Steve Carrell) as a child navigating his way through the wacky world later seen in the Despicable Me films. It grossed $940.2 million dollars at the worldwide box office against a modest budget of $80-100 million, proving one of the studio’s biggest successes.
Illumination has also made a delay to an upcoming untitled event film, originally dated for a March 19, 2027 release, which will now release on Wednesday, June 30, 2027.
Up next for Dreamworks is Dog Man (releasing Jan. 31, 2025), the live-action How to Train Your Dragon remake (Jun 13, 2025), and The Bad Guys 2 (Aug 1, 2025). For Illumination, scheduled releases include the sequel to The Super Mario Bros. Film, which stars Chris Pratt, Charlie Day, Seth Rogen, Keegan-Michael Key, and more.
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