Eddie Murphy is set to voice Vakoro, the villainous uncle at the center of M’Tali: The Everlasting Spring, an original animated fantasy co-written by his daughter, Bria Murphy.

South African actress Ama Qamata, best known for Netflix’s Blood & Water, will voice Princess Selani, the heir to the African kingdom of M’tali.

The story follows Selani, a princess who longs for adventure but dreads the duties waiting for her as future queen. A coup separates her from her family and drives her into the Forbidden Jungle. There she meets a mysterious family that has found the Everlasting Spring, a magical water source believed to preserve youth.

As Selani adapts to her new world, she must face her uncle’s ambitions and learn what truly keeps a kingdom alive. The film will also feature music as part of its coming-of-age story.

Bria Murphy wrote the original story and screenplay with Michael Xavier, and both are producing. Ray Murphy Jr., Autumn Bailey-Ford and Chris Brew are also producers. Deadline reports it is the father and daughter’s second film collaboration. The pair previously shared the screen in Netflix’s Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (2024), in which Bria Murphy had a cameo as the officer who arrests Axel Foley.

The role adds to an already crowded animated slate for Murphy, 65. He returns as Donkey in Shrek 5, set for theaters June 30, 2027, and he is attached to headline a Donkey spinoff in 2028.

For now, no studio, director or release date has been announced. Still, a Murphy family production with Eddie as the villain is the kind of project that could give a new generation its own animated classic.

Photo Credit: Netflix