Eddie Murphy speaks candidly about reprising Donkey in 'Shrek 5'

Eddie Murphy, who has voiced Donkey in Shrek since the flick debuted in 2001, weighed in on his return to the franchise.

With Shrek 5 officially slated for release on June 30, 2027, the original trio of voices is returning once again with Mike Myers as Shrek, Cameron Diaz as Princess Fiona, and Murphy as Donkey.

The upcoming sequel will also introduce Zendaya, who joins the cast as Felicia.

As work on the long-anticipated fifth chapter gets underway, Murphy shared that slipping back into Donkey's high-energy personality would still bring him joy.

In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the 64-year-old opened up about revisiting the role.

“I’ve always said I would do Shrek forever,” he began.

Calling Donkey his favorite character he has ever played, Murphy added, “Donkey is a great character to play.”

He continued, “I love the whole cast. So, I was excited when it was like, ‘Hey, they’re doing another one,’ and they want to do a Donkey one, too. I’m totally into it. I come in too hot, every vocal session.”

But even with his enthusiasm, Murphy admitted the sessions can take a toll.

The Beverly Hills Cop veteran revealed that the intense vocal work can be surprisingly draining.

“Nothing’s worse than working really hard on something, and doing makeup and sweat and all this shit, and then you put it out, and they’d be like, ‘Two thumbs down.’ You go, ‘I was in the makeup chair for 50 hours,’” Murphy recalled and concluded.