Summary
- Despicable Me 4 trailer introduces new villain, Maxime Le Mal, who disrupts Gru’s peaceful life.
- The return of popular characters and the addition of Gru Jr. adds new dynamics to the film.
- Despite mixed reviews for Despicable Me 3, Despicable Me 4 is expected to be a box office hit.
Illumination’s Despicable Me 4 trailer has just dropped, bringing Steve Carell’s reformed bad guy Gru, his Minions and a new addition to the family back for more chaotic fun. This time around, Gru will be coming face-to-face with another villain intent on invading his relatively peaceful life; Will Ferrell’s Maxime Le Mal.
This latest installment, which marks the sixth in the Despicable Me series including the Minions spin-offs, promises to bring back many popular characters from the previous movies. The question is whether the film can deliver more positive reviews than Despicable Me 3, which came as a low-point for the franchise.
The trailer showcases the return of Carell’s Gru, his lovable yet mischievous Minions, along with Gru’s wife Lucy (Kristen Wiig), and their adopted daughter Margo (Miranda Cosgrove). One of the highlights of the new footage is the first look at the arrival of Gru Jr, probably soon to be known as Baby Gru if the general naming conventions of fandom are anything to go by. The relationship between Gru and his son appears to be one of the focal points of the film, which will add a new level to Gru’s parenting skills. Check out the trailer below.
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Despicable Me 4 is the Return of Illumination’s Greatest Franchise
The Despicable Me series has enjoyed immense popularity since its inception, bringing Illumination Studios to the world and, in no small part, helping them bag gigs like last year’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie. While Minions: The Rise of Gru scored high with critics and audiences alike, Despicable Me 3 was a huge financial success but failed when it came to its reviews. This new installment faces the challenge of reviving the main franchise, and with the addition of Gru’s new family member and villains voiced by Ferrell and Modern Family star Sofia Vergara, it certainly seems to be putting its best foot forward.
Despicable Me
- Release Date
- July 8, 2010
- Director
- Pierre Coffin , Chris Renaud
- Runtime
- 95
- Writers
- Ken Daurio , Sergio Pablos , Cinco Paul
- Tagline
- Superbad. Superdad.
- Franchise
- Despicable Me
The seven year gap between Despicable Me 3 and this new adventure could work in the movie’s favor, allowing fans to feel some nostalgic pangs for Gru’s strain of anti-heroics. The addition of Ferrell and Vergara can only add to the dynamic of the already established voice cast. All in all, no matter what the reviews say, it is hard to imagine Despicable Me 4 being anything other than another huge box office hit for Illumination’s prize jewel in its crown.
It seems unlikely that the studio will have any plans to retire the Minions as long as they continue to be box office money-spinners, and their status as the studio’s mascots almost makes them immune to cancelation. Whether Despicable Me 4 can continue the franchise’s popularity will be seen on July 4 when the movie hits theaters.
In the meantime, you can catch up with Gru’s antics in the first three Despicable Me movies, which are streaming on Peacock along with Minions: The Rise of Gru. The first Minions movie is streaming on Netflix.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
