The co-director of Despicable Me 4 has discussed how the franchise can continue into the future. While the new animated sequel is the third follow-up to the original 2010 movie, it is the sixth feature-length installment in the franchise overall, including the two Minions spinoff prequel movies. The Despicable Me 4 cast includes returning voice actors Steve Carell as Gru, Kristen Wiig as Lucy, and Miranda Cosgrove as Margo alongside newcomers such as Will Ferrell as Maxime Le Mal, Joey King as Poppy Prescott, Sofía Vergara as Valentina, Stephen Colbert as Perry Prescott, and Chloe Fineman as Patsy Prescott.

Entertainment Weekly recently spoke with co-director Chris Renaud in honor of the release of Despicable Me 4. When discussing if and how the franchise could continue after the newest movie, he compared the franchise to the James Bond movies, saying that "the way Bond operates is what villain is he up against." The franchise presents manifold opportunities to present colorful new villains, and he also says that the characters are "very relatable," which allows their fluctuating family dynamic to drive interesting new stories. Read his full quote below:

There's a couple of things that have been discussed, [but no new movie is officially announced yet.]. I think that the world of the characters lends itself to multiple stories because they're human, they're very relatable. I think if you have animals or mystical creatures, it can be a bit more limiting because there's only a certain amount of things you can really dive into. And certain things, whether it's really breaking the format and saying, "Hey, we're going to be 50 years in the future," there's definitely still opportunities. [They're like the James Bond movies.] Just to keep that character going, essentially, the way Bond operates is what villain is he up against. And there's an element of that here with Gru, like, okay, who's somebody fun like Maxime, and what's a new family dynamic that we can put him up against?

Will There Be More Despicable Me Movies?

All Signs Point To More Adventures For Gru And His Family

While there has not been an official announcement of a fifth movie in the flagship franchise or a third Minions movie, the Despicable Me 4 release is shaping up so well that a sequel will probably be greenlit sooner rather than later. The new movie, which had a midweek Fourth of July release, is currently projected to hit a 5-day domestic box office opening total of roughly $120 million. In a single holiday weekend, that would make the movie the third highest-grossing domestic animated release of the year so far.

The only animated movies that have earned more than $120 million at the domestic box office in 2024 are Kung Fu Panda 4 ($193.6 million) and Inside Out 2 ($489.3 million).

It is also possible that the movies are impervious to recasting. Steve Carell's performance as Gru is iconic, so losing the Office alum from the franchise could potentially strike a huge blow, as could losing Pierre Coffin (the co-director of the first three movies) as the voice of the Minions. However, the franchise has already dabbled in recasting, as Gru's daughter Agnes - who was originally voiced by Elsie Fisher - was played by Nev Scharrel​​​​​​​ in the third movie and Madison Polan in the new installment.

While Despicable Me 4 reviews have been somewhat negative, earning it a 55% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes, audiences are responding much more positively, giving it a significantly improved 89% score at the time of writing. This response from viewers in addition to the movie's commercial success seems to point to a fifth movie being a near certainty. If the filmmakers can continue to assemble all the compelling story factors that Renaud points to, it seems likely that the franchise can carry on for many years to come.

Source: EW