Despicable Me 4 Director Discusses the Future of the Minions Franchise

Since 2010, the Despicable Me franchise has been one of the most bankable properties in all of entertainment. Illumination’s Minions films continue to rake in money at the box office, with this year’s Despicable Me 4 taking in over $850 million around the globe. With that kind of money coming in, and Minions 3, there’s likely no end in sight for the hit animated franchise. That’s exactly why the final scene of Despicable Me 4 feels so odd — it plays like a series finale.

The last scene of Despicable Me 4 sees Gru take part in a talent show at a prison, alongside the film’s villain, arch rival Maxime Le Mal. As they sing “Everybody Wants to Rule the World,” the villains from all of the previous Despicable Me and Minions movies pop up on the screen, joining in the performance. It’s a big moment with lots of memorable characters that could be read as a send-off for Gru and the Minions.

In honor of Despicable Me 4‘s recent video on-demand release, ComicBook.com spoke to director Chris Renaud, and we asked him about that ending scene. Was it, at least in his eyes, meant to be some kind of Minion swan song?

“Look, I can only speak for myself and I was a big part of pushing that scene and how it came together and, for me, yes,” Renaud told us. “And what I mean is, listen, I know that Despicable Me 4 in the theater is doing so well. They’ve already got Minions 3. But I thought it was an interesting opportunity given the 15 — heck, 16 or 17 years for me personally working on it, to bring some of the characters across the ‘universe’ together for this great moment. And sort of have it as a fun reunion/crossover. Actually you just saw it in Deadpool & Wolverine. It’s something that’s out there in the language. And so I think that, for me, I will admit that I thought of it that way while also fully understanding that it probably wouldn’t be.”

Renaud went on to compare the Despicable Me franchise to something like Batman, where more filmmakers can come in and offer new takes on the characters as time goes on. 

“But I think what I would say to that is that’s what’s interesting about these characters,” the director said. “The best example is Batman, one of my favorite characters of all time. Even a guy like Matt Reeves very recently. they reinvent and reinvent and reinvent. I mean, so there’s always an opportunity to do that. So even though Chris Nolan’s Batman ended, well, hey, another filmmaker comes along and says, ‘I got an idea.’ And I think that the fun about these kinds of worlds is that there’s always an opportunity for these characters to live again, just by their nature. They’re animated, they’re drawings, you know what I mean? For me, that was in my head as we were doing it. I also completely understood that wasn’t the reality of the situation particularly.”

Despicable Me 4 is now available to purchase and rent on all major digital platforms.