You haven’t seen the last of Gru and the Minions quite yet., Universal Pictures and Illumination announced Friday that “Despicable Me 4” is coming to theaters on July 3, 2024. Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Pierre Coffin, Miranda Cosgrove and Steve Coogan will all be returning for the next chapter in the animated, family-friendly series about the reformed super-villain and his army of yellow Minions.
Chris Renaud, who directed the first two “Despicable Me” movies, is back for the fourth installment. Patrick Delage will co-direct, and Mike White will pen the script. Illumination founder Chris Meledandri will produce. There are no details about the film as of yet, but expect plenty of zany shenanigans from Gru (Carell), Lucy Wilde (Wiig), Margo (Cosgrove), Silas Ramsbottom (Coogan) and a multitude of Minions, voiced by Coffin.
Before that, Illumination and Universal will release an original animated film about a family of ducks, titled “Migration,” on June 30, 2023. The logline describes “Migration” as a “modern-day comedy following a family of ducks who convince their over-protective father to go on the vacation of a lifetime as they attempt to migrate from New England, through New York City, and ultimately down to the Bahamas.” Benjamin Renner will direct “Migration,” which is written by White and produced by Meledandri.
Next up for the companies is the second “Despicable Me” spinoff, “Minions: The Rise of Gru.” It’s set to hit theaters on July 1 after being delayed two years by the COVID-19 pandemic. The movie follows Gru’s childhood exploits, where he attempts to joins a supervillain team called the Vicious 6. In addition to Carell and Coffin, the voice cast includes Taraji P. Henson, Michelle Yeoh, RZA, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Lucy Lawless, Dolph Lundgren, Danny Trejo, Russell Brand, Julie Andrews and Alan Arkin.
