Minions: The Rise of Gru

Minions: The Rise of Gru is an upcoming American computer animated comedy film produced by Illumination. A sequel to the 2015 film Minions and spin-off/prequel to the main Despicable Me film series, it will be directed again by Kyle Balda, with Brad Ableson and Jonathan del Val as co-directors. The film stars the returning voices of Pierre Coffin, Steve Carell, Russell Brand and Julie Andrews, along with newcomers Taraji P. Henson, Michelle Yeoh, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Lucy Lawless, Dolph Lundgren, Danny Trejo, RZA, and Alan Arkin.

Minions: The Rise of Gru was scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States on July 3, 2020 by Universal Pictures, but the film was delayed to July 2, 2021 due to the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic's impact on the film industry.

Premise
A continuation of the 2015 film, this time in the heart of the 1970s, a twelve year old Felonius Gru is growing up in the suburbs. A fanboy of a supervillain supergroup known as the Vicious 6, Gru hatches a plan to become evil enough to join them. When the Vicious 6 fire their leader, legendary fighter Wild Knuckles, Gru interviews to become their newest member. It does not go well, and only gets worse after Gru steals from them and suddenly finds himself the mortal enemy of the apex of evil. On the run, Gru will turn to an unlikely source for guidance, Wild Knuckles himself, and discover that even bad guys need a little help from their friends.

Cast

 * Pierre Coffin as the Minions
 * Steve Carell as Gru
 * Taraji P. Henson as Belle Bottom
 * Michelle Yeoh as Master Chow
 * RZA
 * Jean-Claude Van Damme as Jean Clawed
 * Lucy Lawless as Nunchuck
 * Dolph Lundgren as Svengeance
 * Danny Trejo as Stronghold
 * Russell Brand as Dr. Nefario
 * Julie Andrews as Marlena Gru, Gru's mother
 * Alan Arkin as Wild Knuckles

Development
On January 25, 2017, Universal Pictures and Illumination announced a sequel to its 2015 animated film Minions. It began production on July 19, 2017, with Good Vibes and Legends of Chamberlain Heights creator Brad Ableson added as co-director. On May 21, 2019, the film's title was revealed as Minions: The Rise of Gru.

Casting
On February 2, 2020, it was announced that Pierre Coffin and Steve Carell reprising their roles.

Release
Minions: The Rise of Gru was originally scheduled to be released in the United States on July 3, 2020, with an international rollout to begin the week prior. But on March 19, 2020, Illumination announced the film had been pulled from its intended release date due to the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic's impact on the film industry and the film remaining unfinished because of Illumination Mac Guff being temporarily closed. On April 1, Illumination announced the film was rescheduled for July 2, 2021.

Marketing
Mattel announced that it had entered a 3-year deal to create merchandise, and Lego will release Minions sets in 2020 based on the film. A sneak peek was released during Super Bowl LIV on February 2, 2020. The official trailer was released on February 5.