Director of Despicable Me on Live-Action Minions Movie: “God, I Hope Not”

While live-action adaptations of animated films have become a popular trend—Disney has brought several of their animated classics to life with live-action versions and more, including *Snow White*, *Lilo & Stitch*, and *Moana* are in the works—the iconic Minions from the *Despicable Me* franchise are unlikely to make that leap. Filmmaker Chris Renaud is decidedly against the idea. In a recent interview with *Film Hounds* (via *Variety*), Renaud was asked if he would like to see the Minions head to live-action. His response was unequivocal, “God, I hope not.”

Renaud elaborated, “If there were conversations like that, I haven’t been privy to them. But for me, what defines the world is that it is animated and it allows us to get away with what we get away with. Like locking a Minion in the vending machine, or you know, blowing up Gru when he attacks Vector. These are really cartoon ideas, like what would have been in a Bugs Bunny cartoon.”

He added, “It just becomes something completely different if you do a live-action version. For me personally, not very appealing. But again, who knows what can happen but that’s my personal feeling about it.”

Renaud isn’t alone in his sentiments. Earlier this year, Pixar’s Pete Docter expressed similar feelings about live-action adaptations. The idea of a live-action *Ratatouille* isn’t something he would consider, noting how worlds crafted for animation often don’t translate well to live-action. “No, and this might bite me in the butt for saying it, but it sort of bothers me. I like making movies that are original and unique to themselves. To remake it, it’s not very interesting to me personally,” Docter said.

When discussing the challenges of making a live-action rat cute, Docter remarked, “It would be tough. So much of what we create only works because of the rules of the [animated] world. So, if you have a human walk into a house that floats, your mind goes, ‘Wait a second. Hold on. Houses are super heavy. How are balloons lifting the house?’ But if you have a cartoon guy and he stands there in the house, you go, ‘Okay, I’ll buy it.’ The worlds that we’ve built just don’t translate very easily.”

For Minions fans, the good news is that their beloved characters will continue in animated form. In July, it was officially announced that *Minions 3* is in the works. The sequel is set to hit theaters on June 30, 2027. The film is set to be written by Bryan Lynch (*Minions*, *Big Helium Dog*) and directed by Oscar nominee Pierre Coffin, who directed the first three *Despicable Me* movies and *Minions*. The film will be produced by Illumination founder and CEO Chris Meledandri and by Bill Ryan.

Source: Film Hounds, Variety