Somebody once told me that movie release dates are unpredictable.

Actually, it’s been big news ever since the 2020-2025 (and counting) pandemic first closed movie theaters; movie releases were pushed back, changed from cinema openings to online streaming, released both in theaters or on streaming platforms simultaneously, or just plain jumbled around with great regularity.

Now Universal is shuffling the release dates of two of its animated features, both sequels featuring colorful and beloved blobby characters.

Universal has announced that DreamWorks Animation’s Shrek 5 will be moving from a July 1st, 2026 release to a December 23rd, 2026 opening. To fill the void, Universal will open Illumination’s Minions 3, which originally had an opening date of June 30th, 2027.

To fill that space on the calendar, an untitled Illumination film had its debut pushed from March 19th, 2027 to the original Minions 3 date.

This looks like Universal just realized that Minions movies do better in the summer; last year Despicable Me 4 racked up $230 million in its summer opening.

In addition, the timing of Shrek 5‘s release now coincides with the franchise’s 25th anniversary, suggesting that once again Universal might not have thought things through when scheduling their film releases. (But what do we know?)

The fifth installment of the adventures of Shrek will see Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz as reportedly reprising their roles as Shrek, Donkey and Fiona, respectively.  Walt Dohrn and Conrad Vernon, who have been on the production team of several of the Shrek films, will direct.

Minions 3 will be scripted by Brian Lynch, who directed Minions and The Secret Life of Pets, and directed by Oscar nominee Pierre Coffin, who helmed the first three Despicable Me films and the first Minions film. Coffin has also provided the voice for the Minions since their film debut in 2010.