While we're all still eagerly awaiting the release of Minions: The Rise of Gru, Illumination has gone ahead and set a date for Despicable Me 4. The fourth film in the critically and commercially successful Despicable Me franchise will hit theaters on July 23, 2024.
Steve Carell will return to voice the evil mastermind Gru, the grouchy but lovable and smart leader of the adorably silly yellow minions. He's joined by returning members Krristen Wiig, Pierre Coffin, Miranda Cosgrove, and Steve Coogan.
Chris Renaud (Despicable Me 1 and 2, The Lorax, The Secret Lives of Pets 1 and 2) will return to the director's chair with a script from Mike White (The Emoji Movie, Pitch Perfect 3). Illumination veteran Patrick Delage will serve as animation director.
Illumination's Despicable Me franchise first launched in 2010 and has since grossed a total of more than $3.7 billion, making it the highest-grossing animated franchise and the 15th highest-grossing film franchise of all time. Despicable Me 3 was the most recent mainline installment, releasing in 2017 and earning over $1 billion worldwide.
Minions: The Rise of Gru, the sequel to the spin-off prequel Minions (2015), was supposed to release in July 2020, but was pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It will now release in theaters on July 1, 2022 before heading to NBCUniversal's Peacock streaming service shortly thereafter.