There may not have been a load of tears shed (except by A) parents who would hoping for another kid-distraction this summer and B) weirdoes who profit from Minion memes on Facebook) when Minions sequel The Rise Of Gru became one of the latest films delayed by Coronavirus a couple of weeks ago. But for those who were awaiting the new Illumination release, there's an update: it'll now come out in July 2021.
The delay for the film – which sees Gru (Steve Carell) taking his early steps into supervillain territory – was due to the temporary closure of French production studio Mac Guff, which was where the animation team was cranking out work on the animated sequel.
This new move means that another Illumination sequel, Sing 2, is shifting from that summer time release to a Christmas 2021 launch. And as for plans for musical adaptation Wicked, Universal (which releases the Illumination slate) has decided to shunt that one off into limbo. It's not much of a surprise, given that aside from Stephen Daldry directing and some of the stage show's team being involved, no cast or crew had it had only just kicked off pre-production.