What next for the Despicable Me franchise after Minions 3?
Illumination has not abandoned the idea of a fifth Despicable Me. But the studio must already find a worthy story.
Seven films. And six billion dollars gleaned at the global box office.
Gru is a golden goose for Universal and Illumination. A cash machine that will be impossible to stop, as long as it continues to spit out bills.
While Minions 3 begins to rain dollars all over the world, the only question that arises is: when Despicable Me 5 ?
Asked by Deadline during the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, Illumination boss Chris Meledandri admitted that the studio was still working on the future of the franchise… without having yet found the right idea:
“In the world of Despicable Me, it’s very difficult to find a story that truly inspires enthusiasm. Discussions exist constantly. We’re always looking to see if an idea will ignite that creative spark…but we haven’t found it yet…“
It must be said that the previous part did not really wow the critics. Despicable Me 4 sports a distressing 56% score on Rotten Tomatoes. The next part will have to do better so as not to push the franchise into a wall.
Between 2024 and 2025, Chris Renaud, co-director of the first three films, already explained that the studio would never launch a sequel without a sufficiently strong script. According to him, this new opus will also have to explore new territory in order to avoid repeating the same recipes. The director also suggested that Gru Junior, introduced in Despicable Me 4could become the main character and takes over to freshen up the saga. An idea also supported by Steve Carell, the original voice of Gru, who has fun imagining a Despicable Me 5 following Gru Junior’s teenage crisis and his rebellion against his father.
For now, this is all speculation. Illumination has not formalized any development of Despicable Me 5.
