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.
Check Out The Despicable Me 4 Trailer
The Despicable Me 4 trailer is finally here, and shows everything we could expect to see including a BABY GRU.
That’s right, Gru had a little baby that looks just about as grumpy as him and is adorable as you would expect. Be sure to check out the trailer – and all the craziness this family is going to get into – up above.
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.
If you're interested in watching the Despicable Me movie, here's how.
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, Miranda Cosgrove, Sofia Vergara, Will Ferrell And More Are Co-Starring
Another essential part of any Despicable Me movie are the side characters, and thankfully, we have plenty of confirmation on who is going to be back thanks to the YouTube Despicable Me 4 trailer and the official logline for the film, which reveals the entire cast:
Kristen Wiig as Lucy
Kristen Wiig will be back to voice Lucy, Gru’s wife and the stepmother of Gru’s kids. Wiig has since appeared in movies such as Wonder Woman 1984, Mother!, and the How To Train Your Dragon franchise.
Miranda Cosgrove as Margo
Miranda Cosgrove will return to voice Margo, the eldest of Gru’s children. Miranda Cosgrove reprised her role as Carly on the Paramount+ original series, iCarly for three seasons, a reboot of the popular children’s TV show of the same name.
Dana Gaier as Edith
Dana Gaier is back as Edith for Despicable Me 4, the middle child of the three girls. Gaier has primarily stuck to voice work, but also appeared in The Ice Cream Truck in 2017.
Madison Polan as Agnes
Madison Polan will voice the youngest sister, Agnes, in Despicable Me 4. This will be her first major role.
Will Ferrell as Maxime Le Mal
Will Ferrell has joined the Despicable Me 4 cast as Maxime Le Mal, the main villain. Ferrell has appeared in many comedy films such as one of the best Christmas movies ever, Elf, the Anchorman franchise, Quiz Lady, Barbie and more.
Sofia Vergara as Valentina
Sofia Vergara has also joined the Despicable Me 4 voice cast as Valentina, Maxime Le Mal’s femme fatale girlfriend. Vergara is primarily known for her role as part of the Modern Family cast, but has since appeared in the TV miniseries, Griselda on Netflix.
Joey King
Joey King was cast in an undisclosed role in Despicable Me 4. She has appeared in such projects like one of the best shows on Hulu, The Act, in the Netflix franchise, The Kissing Booth, and was a part of the Bullet Train cast.
Stephen Colbert
Stephen Colbert was cast in an undisclosed voice role for Despicable Me 4. He is primarily known for his talk show, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Chloe Fineman
Chloe Fineman was cast in an undisclosed voice role in Despicable Me 4. The actress is primarily known for her time as a cast member on Saturday Night Live.
Also returning is Steve Coogan, who voices Sila Ramsbottom, and Pierre Coffin as the voice of the Minions. Talk about a stacked cast.
Despicable Me 4 Will Be About How The Kids Are Included In The Process Of The Anti-Villain League
Thankfully because of the trailer, we do have an idea of what Despicable Me 4 will be about. This time, we will be following Gru on one of his biggest adventures yet – parenting a baby.
While he is trying to learn how to deal with a child that is new and fresh and is intent on “tormenting his dad,” the family has to go on the run when Maxime Le Mal and Valentina become their new nemesis.
Previously, Steve Carell had teased a little about what the fourth film will be about in an interview with Digital Spy in June 2022, and said that the plot would 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.
This honestly lines up really well with what the actual logline of the movie is, so I can’t wait to see how this unfolds.
Chris Renaud Directed The Feature
The Deadline article above regarding the announcement of the film 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. He also co-wrote the script with Ken Duario, according to Deadline, who is a veteran writer of the past Despicable Me movies.
Despicable Me 4 isn't that far away when updating this in February 2024, so now I'm counting the days until July 3rd. It's time for all of us to do a Despicable Me rewatch.
