Anyone counting down to the December 23, 2026 release date of Shrek 5 is going to have to hold out a few months longer. Shrek 5 was first announced in 2024, two years after the critically acclaimed Puss in Boots: The Last Wish teased a return to the kingdom of Far, Far Away.

Shrek 5 is a highly anticipated continuation of the record-breaking animated franchise, which produced four movies in nine years before seemingly ending for good. But, when the 2024 announcement promised the returns of franchise icons Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy, plus newcomers like Zendaya, some found the news sweeter than true love’s first kiss.

But while Shrek 5 is still on the way, the wait for the film has grown. Universal Pictures has updated the Shrek 5 release date on its calendar to June 30, 2027.

What This Means For Shrek 5

As of this writing, Universal’s website lists Shrek 5 for release on June 30, 2027, but hasn’t put anything else in the December 23, 2026 slot. Among Universal’s slate, Shrek 5 now sits close to How to Train Your Dragon 2 (coming June 11), and will also be released shortly after Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, which hits theaters June 25.

Yet, somehow, that’s looking like less compeтιтion than Shrek 5 would have faced, given the stacked lineup of films competing for the Fall 2026 box office. If it had kept with the December 23 release date, Shrek 5 would arrive days after Avengers: Doomsday and Dune: Messiah, and Ice Age 6, all of which currently release on December 18.

Our Take On Shrek 5’s New Release Date

It looks as though Universal is hoping for their next Shrek story to become a 2027 summer blockbuster. And, as someone old enough to have seen the first Shrek in theaters (multiple times), I’m fascinated to find out if it will.

In theory, Shrek 5 should be huge. The first movie came out in 2001, making it a perfect intergenerational experience for aging Millennials who want to share their favorite movies that weren’t American Pie or Eurotrip with their children.

Then, there is the Shrek meme culture that has proliferated on the internet during the decade-plus that Universal hasn’t been telling their own stories about everyone’s favorite curmudgeonly ogre. Shrek 5 should be an easy success, but there’s always the possibility of an upset, especially if new audiences are required to watch four other films to get up to speed.

It’s likely that Shrek 5 will be the summer blockbuster that Universal seems to envision, and it could only be this writer’s own fears that a favorite childhood franchise could return thanks to meme culture only to face a Morbius-esque fate.