Yahoo News Minions 2: Cast, release date and all you need to know
BANANA! There's no better triumphant word to announce that a new Minions movie is on the way, as Minions 2 is set to follow in the record-setting footsteps of Despicable Me 3.
Gru's evil plan has worked and the three movies in the Despicable Me franchise – combined with the Minions spin-off – have made more than $3.5 billion at the box office.
That makes Despicable Me the most successful animated franchise of all time and that massive box office haul will only climb even higher with the release of Minions 2.
Here's everything you need to about the cast of brightly-coloured characters and their next amazing adventures...
Minions 2 director – Kyle Balda moves back to Paris
Despicable Me and Minions films are usually a collaboration when it comes to directing duties and both Kyle Balda and Pierre Coffin took charge of Minions.
We know Balda is definitely on board because he's moved from America to return to the Illumination Mac Guff studio in Paris, where he will live for the next two years. But it seems as if Coffin (who also voices all of the Minions characters) might be stepping away from helming the second film. That sees Balda joined by co-directors Brad Ableson and Andrew Gordon.
Minions 2 plot – is Gru the main 'villain'?
"We have a script," Balda has confirmed, but that's all we know so far and we have no official plot details at this point. What we do know is what happened at the end of the first Minions film.
Following a search for the ultimate evil master, the Minions went to work for Scarlet Overkill (Sandra Bullock) and her inventor husband Herb (Jon Hamm). Yet at the end of the film the Overkills' plan to steal the Queen of England's crown was foiled by a very young Gru and the Minions decided to follow him instead.
Related: 15 fun facts about Despicable Me's cute yellow critters
We'd expect Minions 2 to continue down the prequel path and show us the felonious schemes young Gru gets up to with his new army of yellow helpers.
What we'd love to see is more of Bullock and Hamm as the Overkills. Depending on the film's timeline, it might also be possible to include the family travelling to Villain Con in the first Minions film. Madge and Walter Nelson (played by Allison Janney and Michael Keaton) were the proud parents of aspiring villains and it'd be fun to revisit them.
Minions 2 cast – who is returning?
Even though he's not currently listed as a director, we'd expect Pierre Coffin to return as the voice of the minions. No-one puts the "BANANA!" into banana quite like him.
We've already got used to Coffin playing major Minions characters such as Kevin, Bob and Stuart, but are some other names about to join that list of A-list minions? We'll have to wait and see.
One thing we do believe is that if the film dips into Gru's past, there's only one man for that voice-acting job: Steve Carell.
Minions 2 release date – set in stone?
Minions 2 is released on June 28, 2020 in the UK. Illumination Mac Guff already confirmed as much early in 2017, at the same time it announced a release date for Sing 2. Given the production information below, that still seems to be on track.
Minions 2 production – has it started filming?
Following 15 months of pre-production in America, shooting officially started in July 2018, giving the team exactly two years to compete their task. Director Kyle Balda has noted that the two-year production schedule for Minions 2 is actually quite short compared to most animated films.
"It's pretty speedy," he said. "But it's great because every day there's a new puzzle to put together – there's so many moving parts and things are happening at the same time. Certain parts are still in story development while others are being animated. So it's like this beast that's coming together that wakes up one day."
Minions 2 trailer - when can we see a sneak preview?
With production having only just got underway, there's no trailer for Minions 2 yet. However, this franchise is known for producing multiple mini-movies before release to help with its promotion, so expect some fun antics from the lovable yellow characters well before that June 2020 date.
Want up-to-the-minute entertainment news and features? Just hit 'Like' on our Digital Spy Facebook page and 'Follow' on our @digitalspy Instagram and Twitter account.
You Might Also Like
