After the incredible success of Minions, a thoroughly unremarkable film that showed that Hollywood can ride cuteness to record-setting profits, you had to assume there would be another film in the Despicable Me series. Yesterday, though, Universal provided more reason for casual moviegoers to see it, announcing that South Park’s Trey Parker will voice villain Balthazar Bratt.
According to Chris Meledandri, CEO of Illumination Studios, the Universal subsidiary that produces the Despicable Me films, Balthazar Bratt is a former child star “driven to supervillainy as a result of the abrupt cancelation of his TV series when he hit puberty.” He’ll contend with Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) and Dru, Gru’s long-lost brother (also voiced by Carell).
Despicable Me 3 will represent the first time Trey Parker has been directed by anyone other than himself as a voice actor in a feature film; he directed the South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut and Team America: World Police, and has directed the vast majority of South Park’s 267 episodes. Although we’re excited to hear Parker as Balthazar Bratt, though, we’re a little concerned about one thing: with that mustache, that ridiculous getup, and Parker’s voice, it’s going to be impossible to imagine Bratt as anything other than the latest absurd, escapist alter ego of Randy Marsh.
Despicable Me 3 is out on Jun. 30, 2017.