Next summer, from the biggest animated franchise in history and global cultural phenomenon, comes the untold story of one 12-year-old’s dream to become the world’s greatest supervillain in Minions: The Rise of Gru. Today, Illumination celebrates the COVID-stymied sequel’s imminent arrival with a new teaser trailer dubbed “On Our Way.” The movie is slated for July 1, 2022.
Amid a flurry of feathered hair and flared jeans in the 1970s, Gru (Oscar nominee Steve Carell) is growing up in the suburbs. A fanboy of a supervillain supergroup the Vicious 6, Gru hatches a plan to become evil enough to join them. Luckily, he gets some mayhem-making backup from his loyal followers, the Minions. Together, Kevin, Stuart, Bob and Otto — a new Minion sporting braces and a desperate need to please — deploy their skills as they and Gru build their first lair, experiment with their first weapons and pull off their first missions.
When the Vicious 6 oust their leader, legendary fighter Wild Knuckles (Oscar winner Alan Arkin), Gru interviews to become their newest member. It doesn’t go well (to say the least), and only gets worse after Gru outsmarts them and suddenly finds himself the mortal enemy of the apex of evil. On the run, Gru will turn to an unlikely source for guidance, Wild Knuckles himself, and discover that even bad guys need a little help from their friends.
Minions: The Rise of Gru features a thrilling new cast of stars, including the Vicious 6: Taraji P. Henson as cool and confident leader Belle Bottom, Jean-Claude Van Damme as Jean Clawed, Lucy Lawless as Nunchuck, Dolph Lundgren as Svengeance and Danny Trejo as Stronghold. The film also features Russell Brand as Dr. Nefario, an aspiring mad scientist; Michelle Yeoh as Master Chow, an acupuncturist with mad Kung Fu skills; and Oscar winner Julie Andrews as Gru’s maddeningly self-absorbed mom.
Steered by the franchise’s original creators, the latest movie is produced by Illumination founder & CEO Chris Meledandri and longtime collaborators Janet Healy and Chris Renaud, directed by returning franchise filmmaker Kyle Balda (Despicable Me 3, Minions), co-directed by Brad Ableson (The Simpsons) and Jonathan del Val (The Secret Life of Pets films) and features the iconic voice of Pierre Coffin as the Minions — plus a killer ʼ70s soundtrack courtesy of Grammy-winning music producer Jack Antonoff.
