Somebody once told me that Shrek is some of Dreamworks' best work, and many of us would even go a step further and argue that the quadrilogy could be considered a cinematic chef's kiss.
Chronicling the story of a Scottish-sounding ogre (voiced by Mike Myers) who lives in a swamp and befriends a talking donkey (Eddie Murphy), the 2001 animated comedy gave us iconic lines like: "We can stay up late, swapping manly stories, and in the morning, I'm making waffles!", and even popularised the hit song 'All Star' by Smash Mouth.
Littered with adult jokes and references to popular folklore, fairytales, and kids' nursery rhymes, the first flick spawned three more installments and featured an all-star cast - including Antonio Banderas, Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake, Rupert Everett, and Jennifer Saunders.
Now, it appears that Murphy - whose role as Donkey always seems to evoke knee-slapping laughter from viewers - would be down for more.
Yep, what a concept! After all, there's always room for one more Shrek movie, no matter what the haters say. Murphy, 61, obviously agrees, after he appeared to throw some shade at Antonio Banderas' Puss In Boots spin-offs.
For those who don't know, Banderas voiced the role of Puss, an adorable sword-fighting feline that was allegedly modeled off the actor's role as Zorro. So far, Banderas has voiced Puss in three Shrek films, as well as a Puss In Boots series and two movies.
According to Murphy, however, Donkey is much funnier and deserved his own spin-offs. When asked during an interview with E-Talk on whether he'd be interested in a Shrek 5, the Coming to America actor stated: "I'd absolutely be open if they ever came with another Shrek, I'd do it in two seconds. I love Donkey."
"You know, they did Puss in Boots movies. I was like, 'They should have did 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.' [...] I would do a Donkey movie. I would do another Shrek in two seconds," he added.
During the interview, the reporter suggested that Murphy could try to "pull some strings" to get his own spin-off movie with Dreamworks, to which he responded: "That's Dreamworks Animation. They have to want to do it. Dreamworks, if you all want to do it, just call me. I'm ready, I'm sitting and ready to do Donkey."
As for a fifth Shrek movie, we could be seeing one sooner than we think. Banderas appeared to hint at an upcoming installment during the Red Sea Film Festival in December 2022, where his latest Puss In Boots flick (Puss In Boots: The Last Wish) screened.
"I've been with this cat for almost 20 years," he told Deadline. "The first time I did Puss In Boots, I was working on broadway, so I did my first session there. I've done five movies now. There is probably gonna be another, and Shrek is probably coming back."
Well, there you have it folks! Could we potentially be seeing more of Murphy's Donkey in the future? I guess we better stay tuned!