Despicable Me Minions Movie Gets A 2014 Release Date

The minions in Despicable Me 2.
(Image credit: Universal Pictures)

The Minions are coming! Those goofy, helpful, yellow creatures that provided some additional laughs in Illumination's computer animated comedy Despicable Me are getting their very own film and while the project still doesn't have a title, it looks like Universal Pictures has decided on a date, aiming to get the film in theaters at the end of 2014.

In less than a year, we'll see Steve Carell returning to the voice of the lead character Gru, full-time villain and family man for Despicable Me 2. And if the teaser is any indication, his hard-working minions will be right there at his side to assist him in whatever evil-doing he might have planned. Despicable Me 2 arrives in theaters July 3, 2013. And earlier this summer, we learned that there were plans in the works for the Minions to have their day in the sun. Deadline shared the news this week that Universal has set the date for the Untitled Minions Project In 3D for Friday, December 19, 2014. Just in time for the holidays! Brian Lynch (Puss in Boots) is writing the screenplay, and Kyle Balda (The Lorax) and Despicable Me director Pierre Coffin will helm the project.

Of course, this puts more than a year between Despicable Me 2 and the Minions follow-up, but it does give Despicable Me fans something to look forward to after the sequel hits theaters.

I'm still on the fence about how the Minions will do with their own movie. But it's easy to see the comedic potential in a Minions-focused film. They had some of the funnier moments in Despicable Me, including this scene, in which they took a shopping trip, which led to in-store shenanigans.

Kelly West
Assistant Managing Editor

Kelly joined CinemaBlend as a freelance TV news writer in 2006 and went on to serve as the site’s TV Editor before moving over to other roles on the site. At present, she’s an Assistant Managing Editor who spends much of her time brainstorming and editing feature content on the site. She an expert in all things Harry Potter, books from a variety of genres (sci-fi, mystery, horror, YA, drama, romance -- anything with a great story and interesting characters.), watching Big Brother, frequently rewatching The Office, listening to Taylor Swift, and playing The Sims.