Ellen DeGeneres reprises role of Dory in new Finding Nemo project

Ellen DeGeneres is coming back to the screen as Nemo fans' favourite forgetful fish.

The former talk show host is set to reprise her role as Dory in a new short film set in the Finding Nemo universe, Deadline reports.

Further information regarding the project is scarce, and no other cast nor team members have yet been announced. The project doesn't have an official title; however, it has been confirmed that production on the spinoff is underway.

DeGeneres brought Dory to life in 2003's Finding Nemo, which won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, before reprising the role in 2016's Finding Dory, a global box office hit that grossed more than $1 billion (£740 million) worldwide.

The latest return marks DeGeneres' first acting credit since the 2021 Pixar Popcorn mini-series.

After ending The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2022, following widely reported allegations of a toxic workplace, she relocated to England with her wife, Portia de Rossi. She released a Netflix stand-up special, Ellen DeGeneres: For Your Approval, in which she addressed the controversy.

"Well, let me catch you up on what's been going on with me since you saw me last," she told the audience. "I decided to take up gardening. I got chickens." She then appeared to consult notes before adding, "Oh yeah, I got kicked out of show business."

Prior to the special's release, she had told a California audience it would likely be her final screen appearance.

"This is the last time you're going to see me. After my Netflix special, I'm done."