MINIONS 2: THE RISE OF GRU
Prepare for turbulence.
DIRECTOR Kyle Balda
STARRING Steve Carell, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Taraji P. Henson, Pierre Coffin
Between them, Gru and his loveable band of helpers, the Minions, have grossed $3.7bn worldwide over four movies to date. No wonder this next instalment – a sequel to Minions that also serves as a Despicable Me prequel – is holding out for a cinema release, having been postponed from 2020.
Minions 2: The Rise Of Gru sees the pint-sized supervillain-to-be attempting to join a bad bunch known as the Vicious 6. “It’s not exclusively a Gru origin story, but more like a Gru and a Minions origin story,” director Kyle Balda tells TF. “What were the trials and tribulations they went through to form their relationship that becomes really important in a Despicable Me film? So it’s sort of like a bridge, I would say, between Minions and a Despicable Me movie.”
The first Minions film established how the yellow dungaree-wearers wanted to serve the best villain boss they can. As Minions 2 is set in the ’70s, though, Gru is still a kid (voiced by a high-pitched Steve Carell). “We started talking about: where was Gru’s head at when he was 11?” continues Balda. “How does he relate to these guys who forced their way into his life? And all with the backdrop of the era of the ’70s.”
Amid the familiar faces, the Vicious 6 promise to provide big laughs for the adults in the audience, not least through the inspired casting. The group is lead by Taraji P. Henson’s Belle Bottom, and also features Svengeance (Dolph Lundgren), Nunchuk (Lucy Lawless) and Stronghold (Danny Trejo). “We really wanted as many action heroes from this time to pay homage to the characters that we were portraying,” says Balda.
Best of all, Jean-Claude Van Damme plays the lobster-armed Jean Clawed. “We wanted a character that felt like he was a little bit unhinged,” laughs Balda. “When we pitched this to Jean-Claude Van Damme, he was quite keen to unleash himself. He’s quite manic and crazy.” Sold.
ETA I 16 JULY 2021