Minions 2: The Rise Of Gru, All We Know About The Sequel/Prequel
Minions 2 promises to give us the origins of Gru and a lot more.
This article is more than 2 years old
When the original sets box office records, it is hard not to have a sequel in place. Such is the case with Minions 2: The Rise of Gru. When the film eventually premieres, it will be a good six years after the original, but Universal is betting big that the returns will be just as profitable as the first. Here is what we know about the sequel.
THE PLOT OF MINIONS 2
Whereas the first Minions told the story of how our funny yellow friends came to be, Minions 2 will now focus on how Gru came to be Gru. The movie is set right after the 2015 film. Felonius Gru is a 12-year old growing up in the suburbs and is a massive fanboy of the villainous group called the Vicious 6. These supervillains are what make Gru tick, and his desire is to become evil enough that the Vicious 6 will recognize him and let him into the group.
Things look good for Gru because the Vicious 6 fire their leader, the legendary fighter extraordinaire Wild Knuckles, leaving an opening for which Gru gets an interview. Unfortunately for Gru, the interview does not go as planned and only gets worse when he, along with his Minion pals Kevin, Stuart, Bob, and Otto, steal something from the Vicious 6, forcing Gru and company to go on the run. He is now the Vicious 6’s mortal enemy. Thankfully, Gru and his Minion partners will have help in the form of Wild Knuckles.
IN CHARGE THIS TIME
With Pierre Coffin not taking the helm of Minions 2: The Rise of Gru, who is now stepping into his shoes? Well, Kyle Balda has taken over as man-in-charge. He actually has a history with the franchise as he co-directed the first Minions with Coffin and also has Despicable Me 3 (again with Coffin) and The Lorax on his resume. This time around, Balda will be joined by Brad Ableson and Jonathan del Val as his co-directors. The script was written by Matthew Fogel, who also wrote the story along with Brian Lynch. Of course, the movie comes from Illumination and will be released by Universal Pictures.
WHEN CAN YOU SEE MINIONS 2?
It’s like déjà vu all over again, so please stop us if you’ve heard this before. The release of the movie has been delayed. Yes, COVID strikes again. Minions 2: The Rise of Gru was originally scheduled to hit movie theaters in the United States on July 3, 2020. Internationally it was to arrive a week earlier. But on March 19 of 2020, Illumination announced that yes indeed, they were going to delay the release due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Their reason for the delay was twofold. One was because movie theaters went dark and secondly, because of the pandemic, Illumination was forced to close down Illumination Mac Guff, which is where they were completing the animation for the film. So at the time, the film wasn’t even finished. A few weeks later, Illumination came out with another announcement stating the Minions sequel was now scheduled for a July 2, 2021 release. This date bumps another planned sequel, Sing 2, to a December 2021 date.
Now, Minions 2 has been delayed a whole year again. The film is scheduled for a July 1, 2022 theatrical release date.
Until that time, check out the Minions 2: The Rise of Gru trailer. It may not hold you over until next summer, but it sure will get you in the mood for some Gru and Minion fun.
UNIVERSAL’S RECORD-SETTER
When Minions first premiered in 2015, Universal had high hopes for the movie based on the success they had with the Despicable Me movies. Minions was a direct prequel spin-off to Despicable Me and told the story of the Minions, who are yellow creatures that have existed since the beginning of time. Their existence is based on their ability and desire to serve the evilest masters throughout history. After many failed, yet hilarious, attempts to serve these masters, the Minions are forced to withdraw into isolation. But over the years, isolation is not good for them. They begin to get restless, needing that master to serve. So, Kevin, Stuart, and Bob decide to set out to regain their dignity and sense of purpose in the world of evil. They eventually find it with Gru.
Minions hit 2015 by storm. It became the 10th highest-grossing film of all-time. When it broke the $1 billion mark, it became the first non-Disney animated feature, behind Toy Story 3 and Frozen, in cinematic history to do so. It also was the fastest animated feature, including Disney movies, to reach $1 billion. These numbers just begged for a sequel.
THOSE CHARACTERS, THOSE VOICES
Who doesn’t love the Minions? Those yellow creatures are most definitely trouble, but fun and funny and at times warm-hearted. The talented voice actor, writer, and director Pierre Coffin is returning to a role he knows quite well. He has directed all four movies in the Despicable Me franchise (Despicable Me, Despicable Me 2, Despicable Me 3, and Minions as well as voiced each and every Minion. This time, though, Coffin will not be directing the Minions sequel but only handling the Minions’ voice roles.
Back in his role as the loveable Gru (but don’t try to convince him) is Steve Carell. This time, instead of playing Gru as an adult, Carell finds himself having to voice Gru as a youngster. But coming up with his voice as Gru, Carell had to give all the credit to his children.
He explained this to Graham Norton on The Graham Norton Show, “My children are responsible for Felonious Gru’s voice,” Carell said to the host. “I tried about a few on my kids and that was the one that made them laugh.” Carell also said of his inspiration, “I just listen to the voices in my head.” Young or old, Carell always seems to be up for the task at hand. If you’re interested, the entire interview on Norton’s show can be seen below. The hilarious show also has Kristen Wiig and Chris O’Dowd as guests.
Joining Carell and Coffin is an amazing voice cast, most notably the Vicious 6. They are Taraji P. Henson as Belle Bottom, the new leader of The Vicious 6. She will be joined by the villainous Jean Clawed, the giant lobster clawed member voiced by none other than Jean-Claude Van Damme. Lucy Lawless plays Nunchuck who, as you may have already guessed, is a villainous nun. Dolph Lundgren is on board as Svengeance, Danny Trejo voices Stronghold, and rounding out the 6 is recently fired Wild Knuckles, who is voiced by Alan Arkin.
Also lending their vocal talents are Russell Brand, who will be the younger version of Dr. Nefario, the evil absent-minded scientist who eventually becomes Gru’s partner in villainy in the future. Michelle Yeoh will voice Master Chow and finally, Julie Andrews from Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music fame will lend her vocal talents as Marlena Gru, Gru’s mother. The vocal talent is second to none.
