Minions: The Rise of Gru voice cast and release date

In what could quite possibly be the origin story of the year, get ready to learn more about Felonious Gru, the infamous villain of the Despicable Me franchise in the brand-new film Minions: The Rise of Gru.

The new film is a new spin-off from the franchise, which saw the Minions get their own movie back in 2015 and has big shoes to fill, as the first Despicable Me film proved wildly successful, taking over $543 million at the box office worldwide when it was first released back in 2010.

It would subsequently see two sequels released, Despicable Me 2 in 2013 and Despicable Me 3 in 2017, with a fourth instalment rumoured to be on the cards. However, for now fans are looking forward to getting to know a bit more about Felonious' back story.

The Minions: The Rise of Gru voice cast features some famous names, including comic actor Steve Carell (The Office US, The 40-year-old Virgin, Evan Almighty), legendary actress Julie Andrews (The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, The Princess Diaries), action star Jean-Claude Van Damme (JCVD, Kickboxer, Double Impact) and the creator of the famous character Alan Partridge, Steve Coogan (Philomena, 24 Hour Party People, Stan & Ollie). The cast includes:

The film will hit cinemas in the UK on Friday, July 1, 2022.

The official Universal Pictures synopsis of the film tells us: "In the heart of the 1970s, amidst a flurry of feathered hair and flared jeans, Gru (Steve Carell) is growing up in the suburbs. A fanboy of a supervillain supergroup known as the Vicious 6, Gru hatches a plan to become evil enough to join them."

"Luckily, he gets some mayhem-making back-up from his loyal followers, the Minions. Together, Kevin, Stuart, Bob, and Otto - a new Minion sporting braces and a desperate need to