There was much rending of garments and wailing of tears when it was revealed that Javier Bardem would not be taking the role of the villain in the Despicable Me sequel, called, in a feat of staggering originality, Despicable Me 2. But now Steve Carell’s Gru will have an opponent boasting the voice of Al Pacino.
Bardem had been in negotiations to play a brand new threat called El Macho, who has a child called Machito. There’s no word on whether Pacino will directly take over that role, but given the production schedule on these movies, we doubt there’ll be much chance for change if that really was the new Big Bad. Especially since the sequel is due out next year.
In the Minion-rich universe of** Despicable Me**, of course, the term “villain” is a changeable one, as Gru himself started out as a megalomaniacal evildoer whose heart was won over by three adorable orphans. We’re pretty sure he’ll be back to some level of wrongdoing this time around.
While there has been no confirmation on other casting just yet, we’d expect the likes of Russell Brand and Julie Andrews to return.
Despicable Me 2 is currently set to arrive on June 28, 2013.