(Updated 05/13/2024)
It doesn't seem like it has been seven years since the last DESPICABLE ME movie (the third came out in 2017), but that's because the 2022 MINIONS sequel featured Gru so heavily that it felt almost like a new movie in Gru's own series.
Now the new Illumination movie DESPICABLE ME 4 is coming this summer. Here's everything we know so far about DESPICABLE ME 4, including the latest trailer, which introduces a handful of Marvel-inspired super-Minions.
What's the Despicable Me 4 Release Date?
Universal Pictures has set July 3, 2024 as the release date for DESPICABLE ME 4. The previous movies in the series have all come out in the last week of June or early in July, too, so this keeps with the established pattern.
Watch the New Despicable Me 4 Trailer
The first DESPICABLE ME 4 trailer set up the Gru family unit, introduced a few new characters, and told us that they're all going to get wrapped up in a heist.
The new trailer features a couple of big setpieces, including an absurd supermarket chase that looks like great fun. But the most notable section features a a super-serum being given to some of the most familiar Minions. The result? A crew of super-Minions who look and act like some familiar heroes, including Cyclops from the X-Men and the Thing from the Fantastic Four.
What is new Despicable movie about?
In this new Despicable Me movie, there's a new member in the Gru family — the baby boy Gru Junior. And, as the official synopsis says, "Gru faces a new nemesis in Maxime Le Mal and his femme fatale girlfriend Valentina, and the family is forced to go on the run."
We also have comments from Steve Carell, when he spoke about the movie while beginning to record his lines in 2022. "It's a continuation of the story," Carell told Digital Spy. "Gru and Lucy are married; they're a family at this point. It's the next step in their world with the Anti-Villain League and how their kids are included in the whole process. It's the most logical next step in the continuation of their story as a family together."
Who's in the Cast of Despicable Me 4?
As mentioned, Steve Carell is back as the reformed super-villain Felonius Gru. He's now part of the Anti-Villain League. Kristen Wiig voices Lucy Wilde, Gru's wife and fellow AVL agent. Miranda Cosgrove voices Gru and Lucy's adopted daughter, Margo, Dana Gaier voices daughter Edith, and Madison Polan plays Agnes. Additionally, Steve Coogan is Silas Ramsbottom, former leader of the Anti-Villain League.
Will Ferrell voices Maxime Le Mal and Sofia Vergara voices Valentina. Joey King, Stephen Colbert, and Chloe Fineman all voice new characters, too.
And, of course, Pierre Coffin voices all the Minions.
Who Is Making Despicable Me 4?
The good news is that Chris Renaud, director of the first two DESPICABLE ME movies, has returned to direct this fourth movie. (He was a producer on the third movie and on the two Minions films.) As is often the case in animation, Renaud had co-directors on the first two DM movies; for this movie, Patrick Delage co-directed.
Finally, the movie is scripted by Mike White, who also wrote Illumination's recent movie MIGRATION. (White has a pretty astonishing resume, with many acting credits, writer/producer credits on shows like "Dawson's Creek" and "Freaks and Geeks" and full creator status on the show "The White Lotus" in addition to scripting movies like SCHOOL OF ROCK and this pair of Illumination efforts.)
DESPICABLE ME 4 opens on July 3.
All images courtesy of Illumination Entertainment and Universal Pictures.