Steve Carell and the minions return in new 'Despicable Me 2' trailer

Kristen Wiig and Miranda Cosgrove also return to animated sequel

By Dave Lewis Tuesday, Mar 19, 2013 2:57 PM

Is the villainous Gru selling out?

The evil mastermind (voiced by Steve Carell) in "Despicable Me" is back for another round of cool cars, weird gadgets and colorful weapons, with his fateful minions in tow. The first full-length trailer for the sequel -- from Universal and Chris Meledandri's Illumination Entertainment -- indicates that Gru will be working with the Anti-Villain League to take down a new baddie (voiced by Al Pacino).

This time Carell's joined by a stellar voice cast which includes franchise vets Kristen Wiig, Miranda Cosgrove and Russell Brand, with Ken Jeong, Steve Coogan, Moises Arias, Dana Gaier and Elsie Fisher are along for the ride.

In the trailer, Gru pays out an overlong domestic scene with his kids, before an AVL rep kidnaps him and we get to see the minions parasailing.

The 2010 original grossed more than $540 million worldwide, and anticipation seems to be very high for the second installment. Do you think it will live up to the first one?

"Despicable Me 2" opens July 3.

Dave Lewis
Producer

Dave Lewis has been a Los Angeles-based entertainment writer and editor for nearly ten years. Originally hailing from Minneapolis, he moved to L.A. in 1996 to attend USC, before working for various periodicals and web sites including a lengthy stint at Variety.com. He joined the HitFix staff in 2011.