You may not know this, but Despicable Me 2 is the third highest grossing animated film of all time. The film opened just shy of $30 million here in the United States, but thanks to strong legs during a summer season light on family films the movie eventually surpassed the one billion mark in ticket sales. ONE BILLION. That’s James Cameron money, y’all, and Universal is not about to let the franchise die without milking this cash cow for all its worth.

Despicable Me 3 is not coming out until 2017, but Universal has found a way to make the most of their popular series by unleashing a spinoff simply titled Minions. The film, which arrives in theaters during summer 2015, shares with audiences the story of the minions before they entered the Despicable Me universe. According to the first trailer, minions have been on Earth for a very long time, and throughout the centuries they have continuously sought out masters whom they could work to please. This included, but was not limited to run-ins with dinosaurs, ancient Egyptians, and Napoleon. Eventually, the minions ran out of potential masters and became extremely depressed. That is, until three brave minions decided to journey away from home in hopes of finding a villain whom they could serve. Check it out:

There is nothing here we haven’t see before from the minion clan, but when something makes a billion dollars you cannot blame a corporation like Universal for not changing a product that is proven to sell as is. Kids don’t want another side of the minions, they just want the minions they know and love to do the things they enjoy seeing them do. That’s what is on display in the trailer above, and I feel confident to claim that will be what happens in the film that arrives next summer. Here is the official synopsis:

The story of Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment’s Minions begins at the dawn of time. Starting as single-celled yellow organisms, Minions evolve through the ages, perpetually serving the most despicable of masters. Continuously unsuccessful at keeping these masters—from T. rex to Napoleon—the Minions find themselves without someone to serve and fall into a deep depression. But one Minion named Kevin has a plan, and he—alongside teenage rebel Stuart and lovable little Bob—ventures out into the world to find a new evil boss for his brethren to follow. The trio embarks upon a thrilling journey that ultimately leads them to their next potential master, Scarlet Overkill (Academy Award® winner Sandra Bullock), the world’s first-ever female super-villain. They travel from frigid Antarctica to 1960s New York City, ending in mod London, where they must face their biggest challenge to date: saving all of Minionkind…from annihilation.

Minions opens July 15, 2015. Are you excited?

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James Shotwell

James Shotwell is the founder of Under The Gun Review. He loves writing about music and movies almost as much as he loves his two fat cats. He's also the co-founder of Antique Records and the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. You should probably follow him on Twitter.

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