It feels so good to be bad – well, bad-ish, and that’s what Despicable Me 4 will bring to theaters. This is what we know so far.
The Despicable Me franchise has changed quite a bit over several movies. How much change can one little movie series do? But when did you last go to an Illumination movie and not see those pesky little minions? They have taken over the world.
Either way, with three movies in the franchise, it was only a matter of time before we got a fourth one. And now, Universal and Illumination are bringing Despicable Me 4 to the big screen. But when is this new film coming out? And what could it be about? Here is what we know so far for all your questions about the movie.
What Is The Despicable Me 4 Release Date?
According to Universal, Despicable Me 4 has a set release date of July 3rd, 2024, just in time for the 4th of July weekend in 2024. It’ll come out as part of our 2024 movie release schedule.
The summer holiday is a great time to release a new Despicable Me movie. Since the third film’s release in 2017, we have had both the Minions movie and Minions: The Rise of Gru. And while it’s great to see the story of these little yellow creatures get expanded even more so than we already know, I’m missing the characters I fell in love with in the first place.
Of course, we still need to get a trailer. But I’m sure that as time passes, we’re only going to learn more about this movie – and the other films it might be competing with that popular movie release weekend.
Steve Carell Is Returning As Gru
It wouldn’t be Despicable Me without Steve Carell returning to voice Gru. Thankfully, according to Deadline in February 2022, it was confirmed that Carell would return to voice the famous villain-turned-sort-of-an-anti-hero.
Truthfully, the Despicable Me movies are some of Steve Carell’s best films, and I can’t wait to see him come back to this franchise after voicing Gru a little bit in Minions: The Rise of Gru. He’s had quite the career since the last official Despicable Me movie.
Carell has appeared in several dramas, including Vice, Beautiful Boy, and the Wes Anderson film Asteroid City. He also appeared in Irresistible and Welcome to Marwen and is set to be a part of the IF cast, a new movie by John Krasinski. It was only a matter of time before he came back to voicing Gru, though, and I can’t wait to see what shenanigans he and his “gurls” get into this time.
Kristen Wiig, Pierre Coffin, Miranda Cosgrove And Steve Coogan Are Coming Back Too
Another essential part of any Despicable Me movie are the side characters, and thankfully, we do have some confirmation on who exactly will return thanks to that Deadline article we referred to when discussing Carell’s return.
Kristen Wiig, Pierre Coffin, Miranda Cosgrove, and Steve Coogan will return in their roles as Lucy Wilde, Mel and the other Minions, Margo, and Silas Ramsbottom – which means that the film is also going to feature the Anti-Villain league again since Silas is the director of it.
While it is great that we have several great supporting characters confirmed to return, I wonder where Edith and Agnes, the two younger sisters of Margo, and Gru’s adopted daughters, might be. Dana Gaier and Nev Scharrel voiced them in the third film, but we have yet to see confirmation about whether they will return.
But since those girls are a staple of the series, I’d be surprised if they didn’t come back. Only time will tell.
Despicable Me 4 Will Be About How The Kids Are Included In The Process Of The Anti-Villain League
We don’t know much about the upcoming plot of Despicable Me 4 just yet. Universal has been tight-lipped regarding what they have planned for Gru and his family.
However, Steve Carell has teased a little about what the fourth film will be about. Carell, in an interview with Digital Spy in June 2022, said that the plot will involve him and his family, and trying to see how they fit in with the Anti-Villain League:
It’s a continuation of the story. Gru and Lucy [voiced by Kristen Wiig] 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.
Carell had also said that he was recording lines for the film at the time. Regardless, with this tease in mind, it makes me optimistic that we’re going to see all three daughters again, especially if they’re going to find a way to include them in the Anti-Villain League somehow.
Chris Renaud Directed The Feature
The Deadline article above confirms that Chris Renaud will be directing the film, with Patrick Delage in the co-directing seat.
Both directors have had a heavy influence in films of Illuminations past. Not only did Renaud work on both Despicable Me and its sequel, but he also worked on one of my favorite underrated films, The Lorax, and the animated hits, The Secret Life of Pets 1 and 2.
Patrick Delage is also a great addition to this film. He worked with Renaud on The Secret Life of Pets 2, but he also worked on Sing and its sequel, with the incredible and seemingly never-ending Sing 2 cast. So, if Despicable Me is in the hands of these two, I have hope.
Mike White Wrote The Screenplay
The last piece of news that we know from that Deadline article is that Mike White wrote the screenplay for Despicable Me 4. If you don’t know who Mike White is, you should learn because he has been all over the map lately for his shows and movies.
Mike White has written some movies you might recognize, such as Nacho Libre, School of Rock, Pitch Perfect 3, and the 2023 family film Migration. But White has gained a lot of notoriety lately for creating The White Lotus on HBO, which earned a Season 3 that will hopefully premiere in 2025. He also made Enlightened, another great show like The White Lotus that you should check out.
White is a pretty well-known name, so out of everyone, I’m glad he’s the person who wrote the script. I have a feeling we’ll be laughing out loud.
Despicable Me 4 isn’t that far away when writing this in December 2023, so now I’m counting the days until July 3rd. It’s time for all of us to do a Despicable Me rewatch.