Despicable Me 4

Upcoming Illumination film

Produced by
  • Chris Meledandri
  • Brett Hoffman
Starring
  • Steve Carell
  • Kristen Wiig
  • Will Ferrell
  • Joey King
  • Sofía Vergara
  • Miranda Cosgrove
  • Chloe Fineman
  • Stephen Colbert
  • Steve Coogan
Music by
  • Heitor Pereira (score)
  • Pharrell Williams (songs and themes)
Production
company
Illumination
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
  • July 3, 2024 (2024-07-03)
CountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglish

Despicable Me 4 is an upcoming American animated comedy film produced by Illumination and distributed by Universal Pictures. It will serve as the sequel to Despicable Me 3 (2017), the fourth main installment, and the sixth installment overall in the Despicable Me franchise. The film is directed by Chris Renaud, co-directed by Patrick Delage, produced by Chris Meledandri and Brett Hoffman, and written by Mike White and Ken Daurio. It stars the voices of Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Will Ferrell, Joey King, Sofía Vergara, Miranda Cosgrove, Chloe Fineman, Stephen Colbert, and Steve Coogan.

Development on a fourth Despicable Me film began in September 2017. It was officially confirmed in February 2022, with Renaud, Delage, and White attached as director, co-director, and writer, respectively. Production was underway by June 2022. Most of the main voice cast was announced in January 2024, with Hoffman and Daurio revealed as co-producer and co-writer, respectively.

Despicable Me 4 is scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States on July 3, 2024.

Premise

Gru (Carell), the world's favorite supervillain-turned-Anti-Villain League-agent, returns for an exciting, bold new era of Minions mayhem, alongside his wife and fellow Anti-Villain League-agent Lucy (Wiig), their three adopted girls —Margo (Cosgrove), Edith (Gaier) and Agnes (Polan)— and the newest member to the Gru family, Gru Jr., who is intent on tormenting his dad. The family is forced to go on the run when they become targeted by escaped criminal Maxime Le Mal (Ferrell) and his femme fatale girlfriend Valentina (Vergara).

— Universal Pictures and Illumination[1]

Voice cast

  • Steve Carell as Gru, a former supervillain turned Anti-Villain League agent; Margo, Edith, and Agnes' adoptive father, Gru Jr.'s biological father and Lucy's husband
  • Kristen Wiig as Lucy Wilde, an Anti-Villain League agent, Gru's wife and the girls' adopted mother and Gru Jr.'s biological mother.
  • Will Ferrell as Maxime Le Mal, a supervillain who seeks revenge on Gru and his family
  • Joey King as Poppy,[2] an aspiring supervillain
  • Sofía Vergara as Valentina, Le Mal's femme fatale girlfriend
  • Miranda Cosgrove as Margo, Gru and Lucy's oldest adopted daughter
  • Steve Coogan as Silas Ramsbottom, the former director of the Anti-Villain League, having retired in the previous film
  • Pierre Coffin as the Minions, the yellow henchmen of Gru
  • Dana Gaier as Edith, Gru and Lucy's middle adopted daughter
  • Madison Polan as Agnes, Gru and Lucy's youngest adopted daughter. Polan replaces Nev Scharrel from the third film.

Additionally, Stephen Colbert, Chloe Fineman, and Chris Renaud have been cast in undisclosed roles.

Production

Development of Despicable Me 4 began in September 2017.[3] The film was officially confirmed in February 2022, with veteran Despicable Me director Chris Renaud, Patrick Delage, and Mike White attached as director, co-director, and writer, respectively, and a July 3, 2024 release date announced.[4][5] Production was underway by June 2022, with Steve Carell starting his voice recording after a "couple of sessions".[6] In January 2024, it was announced that Will Ferrell, Joey King, Sofía Vergara, Stephen Colbert, Chloe Fineman, and Madison Polan would join the voice cast, with Ferrell, King, Vergara, and Polan (replacing Nev Scharrel) voicing Maxime Le Mal, Poppy, Valentina, and Agnes, respectively.[7][2] It was also announced that The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) executive producer Brett Hoffman and longtime Despicable Me and Illumination writer Ken Daurio had been added as co-producer and co-writer, respectively.[1]

Music

In March 2024, Heitor Pereira was announced to be composing the film's score, returning from the first three films.[8] Pharrell Williams was also confirmed to be returning to co-compose the score with Pereira, as well as to write new songs.[9]

Marketing

The first trailer for the film was released on January 28, 2024, during the 2023–24 NFL playoffs championship games.[10] The trailer features the songs "Sweet Child O' Mine" by Guns N' Roses and "Maneater" by Hall & Oates, as well as in television showings, "Through the Fire and Flames" by DragonForce. The trailer has 19 million views as of March 2024.[11] An additional trailer was revealed on February 11 during the Super Bowl LVIII, being narrated by Jon Hamm, who previously voiced Herb Overkill in the Minions spin-off, and featured cameos from Will Ferrell and Steve Carell. Ryan Gajewski of The Hollywood Reporter said the trailer had appeared to "tout the benefits of modern technology but feature strange images supposedly generated by AI", enjoying the Renaissance-era inspired pose of Ferrell and Carell in the trailer.[12]

Release

Despicable Me 4 is scheduled to be released in the United States on July 3, 2024.[4]

As part of Universal's deal with Netflix, the film will stream on Peacock for the first four months of the pay-TV window, before moving to Netflix for the next ten, and returning to Peacock for the remaining four.[13][14]

References

  1. ^ a b "Despicable Me 4". Universal Pictures. Archived from the original on January 29, 2024. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
  2. ^ a b Joey King [@joeyking] (January 28, 2024). "Say hello to Poppy. You do not wanna get on her bad side…she can be pretty…Despicable. #DM4 coming to theaters July 3rd. Trailer out now" – via Instagram.
  3. ^ Sakoui, Anousha; Palmeri, Christopher (September 12, 2017). "In Dismal Summer, Despicable Me 3 Producer Delivers $1 Billion". Bloomberg Businessweek. Archived from the original on September 29, 2017. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  4. ^ a b Grobar, Matt (February 18, 2022). "Illumination & Universal Set Dates For Animated Films Migration & Despicable Me 4". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 18, 2022. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  5. ^ Moreau, Jordan (February 18, 2022). "Despicable Me 4 Set for Summer 2024 by Illumination, Universal". Variety. Archived from the original on February 18, 2022. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  6. ^ Seddon, Dan; Sandwell, Ian (June 27, 2022). "Steve Carell gives exciting Despicable Me 4 update as he teases plot". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on June 27, 2022. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
  7. ^ Dick, Jeremy (January 28, 2024). "Gru Faces a New Nemesis in First Despicable Me 4 Trailer". CBR. Archived from the original on February 4, 2024. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
  8. ^ "Heitor Pereira Scoring Illumination Entertainment's 'Despicable Me 4' | Film Music Reporter". Retrieved April 15, 2024.
  9. ^ Jirax, Jamie (April 11, 2024). "Despicable Me 4 Confirms Pharrell Williams Returning as Songwriter and Performer". ComicBook.com. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
  10. ^ Lovett, Jamie (January 28, 2024). "Despicable Me 4 Trailer Released". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on January 28, 2024. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
  11. ^ "Despicable Me 4 Official Trailer". Illumination. January 28, 2024. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  12. ^ Gajewski, Ryan (February 11, 2024). "Jon Hamm Narrates 'Despicable Me 4' Super Bowl Trailer Mocking AI Glitches". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  13. ^ Hayes, Dade (December 9, 2021). "NBCUniversal's New Theatrical Window Scheme To Bring Films To Peacock After As Few As 45 Days Of Release". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 9, 2021. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
  14. ^ Moon, Mariella (July 14, 2021). "Netflix extends exclusive rights to Universal's animated films in the US". Engadget. Archived from the original on July 10, 2022. Retrieved July 14, 2021.

External links

  • Official website
  • Despicable Me 4 at IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
Despicable Me 4
Films
Main series
Prequel series
  • Minions (2015)
  • Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022)
Characters
Music
  • Despicable Me
  • Despicable Me 2
    • "Happy"
  • Minions
  • Despicable Me 3
    • "Yo contigo, tú conmigo (The Gong Gong Song)"
  • Minions: The Rise of Gru
Video games
Related
  • v
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  • e
Films directed by Chris Renaud
  • v
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Works by Mike White
Television series
  • Pasadena (2001)
  • Cracking Up (2004)
  • Enlightened (2011–2013)
  • The White Lotus (2021–present)
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Illumination
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computer-animated
  • Hop (2011)
Upcoming
  • Despicable Me 4 (2024)
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See also
  • v
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DreamWorks Animation
Upcoming
Illumination
Upcoming
  • Despicable Me 4 (2024)
Universal Animation Studios
  • Curious George (2006)
  • Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey! (2009)
  • Woody Woodpecker (2017)
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  • Piece by Piece (2024)
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