George Lucas is lending his voice for a character in Minions & Monsters, the latest film in Illumination’s Despicable Me franchise.
In a new interview with Collider, Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri revealed that the Star Wars creator joined the animated feature, which opens in theaters July 1, after sharing his longtime admiration for the studio’s movies.
“I had this privilege of meeting George about two years ago, and what led to my meeting him is how much he loves Illumination movies, and specifically Despicable Me, and even more specifically, the Minions,” Meledandri said. “It was such a thrill to learn that and then to share it with the team, because obviously he’s among a very small group of people who the entire studio shares a level of respect for that is just off the charts.”
Meledandri added that after the meeting, he pitched an idea for Lucas’ casting in Minions & Monsters to director Pierre Coffin, co-writer Brian Lynch and producer Bill Ryan.
“An idea for a character came up out of the story, and so I said to Pierre, ‘Well, what if we could get George?’ And they’re like, ‘Are you kidding me?’ I had no idea, but I got such a fast yes,” he recalled. “We’re thrilled to have him in the film. I saw him recently, and he’s already talking to me about the role he wants to do next in the next Minions movie. So, it’s pretty incredible.”
Lucas ended up recording his lines in Paris. The voice cast also includes Jesse Eisenberg, Allison Janney, Christoph Waltz, Jeff Bridges, Zoey Deutch, Trey Parker and Phil LaMarr.
The Minions were first introduced to audiences in 2010’s Despicable Me as the loyal sidekicks of former supervillain Gru (Steve Carell). They most recently appeared in 2024’s Despicable Me 4. The franchise has grossed nearly $5 billion worldwide at the box office.
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