Minions 3 is an upcoming American animated comedy film produced by Illumination and distributed by Universal Pictures. It will be directed by Pierre Coffin based on a screenplay by Brian Lynch, and is the sequel to Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022), a prequel to Despicable Me (2010), the third film in the Minions film series, and the seventh entry overall of the Despicable Me franchise.
Minions 3 is scheduled to be released in the United States on July 1, 2026.
Minions (/ˈmɪnjənz/) are a fictional all-male species of yellow creatures that appear in Illumination's Despicable Me franchise, created by Eric Guillon, Pierre Coffin, and Chris Renaud. They are characterized by their comedic behavior and their language, which is largely unintelligible.
The Minions serve as the official mascots for Illumination and have also been described by The New York Times as "corporate icons" for Comcast in the years since their 2013 purchase of Illumination's parent company NBCUniversal, similar to Mickey Mouse for The Walt Disney Company, Mario for Nintendo or Sonic for Sega.
Minions is a 2015 American animated comedy film directed by Pierre Coffin and Kyle Balda and written by Brian Lynch. Produced by Illumination Entertainment, it is a prequel to Despicable Me (2010) and the third installment in the Despicable Me franchise. The film features the voices of Coffin (as the Minions), Sandra Bullock, Jon Hamm, Michael Keaton, Allison Janney, Steve Coogan and Jennifer Saunders, with Geoffrey Rush as the narrator. In the film, the Minions search for their replaceable evil boss after, one-by-one, accidentally killing all their past leaders throughout history.
Minions premiered in London on June 11, 2015, and was released in the United States on July 10, by Universal Pictures. It received mixed reviews from critics. The film grossed $1.16 billion, becoming the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2015, the second-highest-grossing animated film and the tenth-highest-grossing film of all time. A sequel, Minions: The Rise of Gru, was released in 2022, while a third film is due to be released in 2026.
Despicable Me 3 is a 2017 American animated comedy film directed by Pierre Coffin and Kyle Balda and written by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio. Produced by Illumination and distributed by Universal Pictures, it is the sequel to Despicable Me 2 (2013) and fourth film in the Despicable Me franchise. The film stars the voices of Steve Carell (in a dual role), Kristen Wiig, Trey Parker, Coffin, Miranda Cosgrove, Steve Coogan, Jenny Slate, Dana Gaier, Nev Scharrel and Julie Andrews. In the film, Gru teams up with his long-lost twin brother Dru to stop Balthazar Bratt, a former child actor of the 1980s, from destroying Hollywood after his show was canceled years ago.
Development on a third main Despicable Me film began in 2013 with Coffin returning as director alongside Balda. The film was in the early writing stages by 2014, while the cast was announced in 2016. Heitor Pereira and Pharrell Williams returned for the music like the first two films.
Despicable Me is a 2010 American animated comedy film directed by Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin and written by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio from a story by Sergio Pablos. Produced by Illumination Entertainment as its debut film and distributed by Universal Pictures, it stars the voices of Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand, Kristen Wiig, Miranda Cosgrove, Will Arnett, Danny McBride, Jack McBrayer, and Julie Andrews. The film follows Felonious Gru, a longtime supervillain who adopts three orphan girls to use as pawns in a villainous scheme but reluctantly develops an emotional attachment to them.
Development of Despicable Me began when Pablos pitched the idea about a main character having villainous attributes to producer Chris Meledandri following Illumination's foundation in 2007. The film was announced in 2008, with much of its creative team attached. Animation was provided by Paris-based studio Mac Guff. Pharrell Williams and Heitor Pereira composed the film's score, with original songs written and performed by the former.
Despicable Me 4 is a 2024 American animated comedy film directed by Chris Renaud and written by Mike White and Ken Daurio. Produced by Illumination and distributed by Universal Pictures, it is the sequel to Despicable Me 3 (2017) and the sixth film in the Despicable Me franchise. The film stars the voices of Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Pierre Coffin, Joey King, Miranda Cosgrove, Stephen Colbert, SofÃa Vergara, and Will Ferrell. The film sees reformed supervillain and secret agent Gru temporarily relocate his family to a safe house when his old rival Maxime Le Mal seeks revenge. Subplots deal with Gru's family adjusting to their new lives, teenage neighbor Poppy Prescott trying to follow in Gru's footsteps, and a group of Gru's Minions becoming superheroes known as the Mega Minions.
Development on a fourth main Despicable Me film began in September 2017. It was officially confirmed in February 2022, with Renaud, Delage, and White attached as director, co-director, and writer, respectively. Production was underway by June 2022. Most of the main voice cast was announced in January 2024, with Hoffman and Daurio revealed as co-producer and co-writer, respectively. Heitor Pereira and Pharrell Williams returned from previous installments to compose the score and write original songs and themes, respectively.