‘Despicable Me 4’ Adds Will Ferrell, Sofia Vergara and Others to the Franchise

Gru is getting a gaggle of new friends and foes.

Illumination and Universal revealed the full cast of Despicable Me 4 when airing a trailer spot for the animated summer tentpole during Sunday’s showdown between the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens AFC Championship game. The studio also released details of the plot for the first time.

Franchise newcomers include Will Ferrell, Sofia Vergara, Joey King, Stephen Colbert, Saturday Night Live‘s Chloe Fineman and newcomer Madison Poland, who plays one of Gru’s (Steve Carell) daughters. Pierre Coffin, Kristen Wiig, Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier and Steve Coogan are among those returning to the ranks of the voice cast.

This time out, the Carell-voiced Gru and his three girls welcome a new member to the family who is intent on tormenting his dad. At the same time, Gru faces a new nemesis in Maxime Le Mal (Ferrell) and his girlfriend (Vergara) and must go on the run.

The upcoming movie — which hits theaters July 3 — is a sequel to 2017’s Despicable Me 3 and the sixth installment in the overall franchise, which includes the two Minions movies. The threequel grossed $1.03 billion at the global box office in 2017, including $770.2 million overseas and $264.6 million domestically. In 2022, Minions: The Rise of Gru earned a spectacular $940.2 million.

Illumination’s comedic franchise is the most successful animated series in history in terms of global ticket sales.

Despicable Me 4 was directed by franchise regular Chris Renaud from a script by Mike White and Ken Daurio. Patrick Delage co-directed, with Illumination’s Chris Meledandri once again producing alongside Brett Hoffman.