Released this summer, Minions 2: The Rise of Gru shows us the origins of Steve Carell's world-conquering baddie. It comes hot on the heels of the three Despicable Me movies, plus the 2015 Minions spin-off film. Here's what we learned from the trailer.
1. It's set in 1974
No, we're not just talking about Linda Ronstadt on the record player, the afros and the garish costumes. During an early scene, young Gru is seen auditioning for a super-villain role, and is talking to other prospective candidates. One of them is reading a copy of Mad Magazine, on which is printed a headline about US President Richard Nixon's imminent impeachment. Nixon, of course, resigned in 1974 before that could take place, meaning the new Minions movie likely takes place in that year.
And the joke gets more meta than that. Mad is a real satirical publication, which sported a Minions-themed spoof cover in 2015 to tie in with their solo movie debut.
2. The Minions are younger
Or, at, least, we assume they are. After all, loyal Otto is shown to be sporting braces, which is often associated with one's teenage years. Does this mean the Minions are subject to the ageing process like we are? Or is Otto just sporting them for fun?
3. We may get the origins of another Despicable Me character
This is pure speculation on our part, but the trailer foregrounds the moment where Otto hands a priceless stone, stolen by Gru from the super-villain convention, to a young child at their birthday party. Might this serve as an inception moment for another Despicable Me character? After all, we're presented with the rise of young Gru, so maybe the first film's Vector (Jason Segel) was present at the birthday, and his first contact with the Minions ignited a desire for world domination?
4. There's a Marvel in-joke
Noticed the name of the villainous collective, the Vicious 6? That's surely a pun on the Sinister Six, the Marvel villains organisation that makes life very difficult for Spider-Man. There have long been rumours of a Sinister Six movie in the making, going back to the presence of Electro and Rhino in 2014's The Amazing Spider-Man 2; however, when that film failed at the box office, the plans hit the skids.
Whatever happens, there's no denying that young Gru clearly has a taste for this world-conquering malarkey. Given that the Vicious 6 in the trailer only appear to encompass five people (including Hidden Figures' Taraji P. Henson as main baddie Belle Bottom), it's evident they're auditioning Gru to become the sixth member. We'll find out if he makes the grade this summer.
Minions 2: The Rise of Gru is released in Cineworld on the 10th of July. Let us know @Cineworld if you can't wait to see it.
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