Eddie Murphy is going to be the bad guy. The comedy legend is set to voice the villain in M'Tali: The Everlasting Spring, an animated family fantasy co-written by his daughter Bria Murphy. South African actress Ama Qamata, the star of Netflix's Blood & Water, will voice the heroine. Deadline broke the news on Thursday, November 12.
Qamata plays Princess Selani of the African kingdom of M'tali. Selani wants adventure and quietly dreads the day she has to become queen. Murphy is her uncle, Vakoro, and he has plans of his own.
A coup separates Selani from her family and her kingdom. She lands in the Forbidden Jungle, home to a mysterious family that has found the legendary Everlasting Spring, a magical water said to keep people young forever. There is music in it too.
A Murphy Family Production
Bria Murphy is writing the original story with Michael Xavier, and it is her first feature screenplay. She has acted before, with roles in Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F and The Perfect Match. Deadline notes this is the second film she and her father have worked on together.
She and Xavier are also producing, along with Ray Murphy Jr., Autumn Bailey-Ford and Chris Brew.
Eddie Murphy's voice work is short and legendary. He was Mushu in Disney's Mulan in 1998, and he has been Donkey since the first Shrek. M'Tali is his first animated movie outside those two. And he is not the funny sidekick this time.
Shrek 5 is due in theaters on June 30, 2027.
What the Producers Are Saying
"As a mother of a four-year-old son, I'm always looking for stories I can share with him that show a child what true strength looks like. M'tali does that," Bailey-Ford said. "Selani leads with heart, curiosity and faith in her people, not with power. I'm proud to help bring a story rooted in African culture to the screen, with a family this talented behind it, and with Eddie Murphy leading the way."
Bailey-Ford runs Autumn Bailey Entertainment, which works out of Atlanta and Cape Town.
Qamata is best known as Puleng Khumalo on Blood & Water. Her other credits include Gomora, Fight Like a Girl and Commandos.
The film is still early. The team is out to directors and to studio, streaming and production partners. No release date yet.
