The Mega Minions from “Despicable Me 4” were inspired by “Fantastic Four”

Despicable Me first introduced Gru’s adorable yellow Minions, Despicable Me 2 had evil minions, and Despicable Me 3 The Minions were mutinous prisoners. So when it came time to plan the fourth film in the beloved animated franchise, co-directors Chris Renaud and Patrick Delage knew they had to pull out all the stops. True to the spirit of the times, they turned to superheroes.

That’s right: for the first time, a Despicable Me The movie features giant Minions. These Minions, as seen in the clip above and the footage below, are essentially Minions who gain superpowers while working for the Anti-Villain League under the leadership of Silas Ramsbottom (Steve Coogan), who is called out of retirement to take down a new villain, Max the Evil (Will Ferrell).

After escaping from prison, Maxime seeks revenge on Gru (Steve Carell) for arresting him. The AVL relocates Gru and his family—now including wife Lucy (Kristen Wiig), adopted daughters Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (Dana Gaier) and Agnes (Madison Skyy Polan)—and new baby Gru Jr.—to a safe house in Mayflower, a new upscale neighborhood.

“So when we started, (the Minions) were more a part of the story in Mayflower, the beautiful town, and they were hanging out on yachts, and I think they were in Vegas for part of the time,” Renaud says. Weekly Entertainment“They had a comfortable lifestyle, but there wasn’t really enough comedy in it. So we started talking about their work at the AVL and the possibility of them becoming agents for the AVL, which we thought was funny.”

This brought the creative team back to an idea they had started toying with during the making of the second film but ultimately did not pursue: super Minions. The final versions of the fourth film include a rock-like Minion reminiscent of the The Fantastic Four the character The Thing, a Mr. Fantastic-style stretchy Minion, another that shoots lasers from its eye, and a ball-shaped Minion that can fly.

“I know for me, I was really thinking about simple, very graphic, easy-to-understand powers. We talked about a lot of things, but I think knowing the screen time that we had, which wasn’t a lot, (we went for) very archetypal powers in the vein and the look of the Fantastic Four,” he says.

“So their powers are not exactly the same The Fantastic Fourbut one thing I like in comparison with this group is the The Fantastic Four “The powers are a little wacky,” Renaud continues. “The Invisible Woman, the fire guy, the stone guy, there’s something special. It works really well in comics, but the visual and graphic sensibility of those powers lent themselves really well to the Minions.”

Want more information about cinema? Subscribe to Weekly EntertainmentSign up for the free newsletter to receive the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, movie reviews and more.

Of course, other superheroes were also a source of inspiration, but ultimately, the Minions got what powers, based on the original design of the beloved yellow goofballs. “In other words, with the Minion that stretches, that’s Tim, our big guy, and so it makes sense (for him),” Renaud explains. “And of course, Mel, with the laser beam powers, is a one-eyed guy with glasses, and then the glasses stretch. So we looked at ways to make even part of the design of a regular Minion, could lead to what their superpower could be.”

In addition to the Mega Minions, Despicable Me 4 The film also stars the voices of series newcomers Stephen Colbert, Sofia Vergara, Chloe Fineman and Joey King. The film is currently playing in theaters.

Watch the clip above to learn more about the Mega Minions.