Ellen DeGeneres is returning to the big, or rather small, screen, and she’s bringing everyone’s favorite forgetful fish with her.
The former talk show host is set to reprise her role as Dory in a new short film set in the Finding Nemo universe, according to Deadline.
No further details have been announced at this stage.
This return marks DeGeneres’ first acting credit since the 2021 Pixar Popcorn miniseries, in which she also voiced the beloved Blue Tang.
She originally brought Dory to life in 2003. Finding Nemowho won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film, before reprising the role in the 2016 film Finding Dory, a global phenomenon that has grossed over a billion dollars worldwide.
The news is notable given that DeGeneres, 68, had hinted that her public appearances were effectively over.
After finishing The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2022, following widely reported allegations regarding a toxic workplace, she moved to England with her wife Portia de Rossi in 2024 and released a stand-up special on Netflix, Ellen DeGeneres: For your approvalin which she addresses the controversy with her characteristic dry wit.
“Well, let me tell you what’s been happening since you last saw me,” she told the audience.
“I decided to start gardening. I have chickens.” She then appeared to consult notes before saying: “Oh yeah, I got kicked out of show business.”
She also aimed for the title that had followed her.
“‘The Be Kind Girl wasn’t nice.’ That was the title. Here’s the thing: I’m a comedian on a talk show, and I end the show every day by saying, “Be kind to each other.” If I had ended my show saying, ‘Fuck you,’ people would have been pleasantly surprised to find out that I’m nice.”
Before the special’s release, she told a California audience that it would likely be her last on-screen appearance.
“This is the last time you see me. After my Netflix special, I’m done.”
Dory, it seems, had other plans.
