Get ready, fans of the Despicable Me franchise, a new installment has arrived. Minions: The Rise of Gru continues the origin story of everyone’s favorite little yellow creatures while also revealing how they began their adventures with Gru. The highly anticipated new installment in the iconic franchise was released on July 1, 2022.

The Despicable Me franchise is the highest-grossing animated film franchise of all time, with its first four films drawing a cumulative total of $3.7 billion at the worldwide box office. As the fifth film of the franchise and the second in the spin-off prequel Minions series, anticipation for the release was very high. Illumination is cashing in on the franchise’s notoriety, launching toy lines in partnership with Mattel and LEGO.

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With all that in mind, let’s take a look at everything we know about Minions: The Rise of Gru. What does the plot involve? Who is a part of the star-studded voice cast? What else should audiences know before the next installment of this wildly popular family franchise?

Updated July 2022 by Liz Young: If you’re looking for more details about Minions: The Rise of Gru, you’ll be happy to know that we’ve updated this article with more details, including a fun trend that has followed the film.

Minions: The Rise of Gru: The Plot

The film picks up after the first film’s events, where viewers will recall that the Minions first encountered a young Gru near the end. The story follows a young Gru growing up in the 1970s as he idolizes his favorite supervillain group, The Vicious 6. Gru wants to prove that he is evil enough to join the group and enlists the help of his lovable yellow assistants, the Minions. When the young mastermind sees an opening after the group ousts their leader, Wild Knuckles, Gru outsmarts the group by stealing a stone from them. In the process, he makes enemies with some of the most powerful figures in the supervillain world. Facing a new threat, Gru is forced to turn to Wild Knuckles, as well as his trusty Minions, for guidance on how to combat the gang.

Viewers can expect to see everything that they love about the Despicable Me franchise represented in this film. As Universal put it, the film is “teeming with Illumination’s signature subversive humor, pop-culture sophistication, full-hearted emotion, bold music sensibility, and over-the-top action.”

Minions: The Rise of Gru also honors longtime fans who grew up with the franchise by finally answering the question of what made Gru into who he is as an adult.

Minions: The Rise of Gru: The Cast

     Universal Pictures

As we know, Minions: The Rise of Gru is another prequel to the Despicable Me franchise, showing what happens after the minions meet Gru and begin to work together. Lead star Steve Carrell is back to voice the younger Gru, as he did briefly at the end of the first film in 2015. Additionally, longtime franchise director Pierre Coffin voiced the Minions once again. Also returning to the franchise are Julie Andrews as Gru’s mother, Marlena, and Russell Brand as Gru’s assistant Dr. Nefario.

The new cast members who joined the film as The Vicious 6 include names such as Taraji P. Henson as Belle Bottom, Jean-Claude Van Damme as Jean Clawed, Dolph Lundgren as Svengeance, Lucy Lawless as Nunchuck, Danny Trejo as Stronghold, and Alan Arkin as Wild Knuckles. Additionally, Michelle Yeoh voices Master Chow, a kung fu practicing acupuncturist.

Release Date

Minions: The Rise of Gru had a complicated release schedule. Back in 2019, the film was first set for release on July 3, 2020. COVID-related production delays saw that date pushed back by a year to July 2, 2021, and again by another year to its final release date of July 1, 2022. During its opening weekend, it pulled $106 million domestically.

Following a new deal between Universal and Peacock, Minions: The Rise of Gru and other Universal films will be available to stream on Peacock no later than four months after they are released in theaters. Currently, there is no streaming release date or DVD/Blu-ray release date for the film.

The #Gentleminions Social Media Trend

The film has taken on an interesting trend at the box office. Groups of teens are dressing in their best attire to go and see the movie, sometimes going in groups of over a dozen. The activity is trending on TikTok under the hashtag #Gentleminions. It’s taken hold of Gen-Z worldwide, with most groups being pretty tame, though there have been reports of some rowdy movie-goers. This has caused some theaters to ban the Gentleminions from coming, but this isn’t widespread.

Universal acknowledged the trend on Twitter, thanking them for the support.

With that in mind, all that audiences can do now is wait until a streaming release date is confirmed to reconnect with their favorite supervillain.