Hollywood’s favorite yellow mischief-makers are back, and this time, they’re taking on monsters, movie magic, and the wild world of 1920s Tinseltown. The much-anticipated first trailer for Minions & Monsters—the third film in the Minions spin-off series and seventh overall in the blockbuster Despicable Me franchise—made its grand debut during Super Bowl LX on February 9, 2026, treating millions of viewers to a first look at what’s shaping up to be one of the year’s most anticipated family films.
Universal’s latest animated adventure is set to hit theaters on July 1, 2026, a date that was actually moved up from its original June 30, 2027, slot, according to Deadline. The move puts Minions & Monsters in direct competition with other animated heavyweights, including the much-hyped Shrek 5, which is set for a December 2026 release. But if the franchise’s track record is anything to go by, the Minions are more than ready to hold their own.
The Super Bowl spot didn’t waste a second. It opened with a single Minion running toward the camera, breathless and shouting “minions” and “monster!” before an off-screen roar sent a ripple of excitement through the crowd. The teaser directed viewers to “Watch the trailer,” which was posted online immediately after the spot aired. As The Hollywood Reporter notes, this reveal officially cemented the film’s title and gave fans their first taste of the mayhem to come.
So, what exactly is Minions & Monsters all about? The film takes a bold leap back in time to the 1920s, following three ambitious Minions as they travel to Hollywood with dreams of becoming filmmakers. But, in true Minions fashion, things quickly spiral out of control. According to Universal Parks News Today and FirstShowing.net, the trio stumbles upon a mysterious spellbook and, in their quest to make their own monster movie, accidentally summon a real monster—setting off a chain of events that threatens to unleash chaos on the world.
The plot promises a riotous blend of slapstick, meta-humor, and fantastical storytelling. The trailer shows the Minions getting a little too into character during a battle scene, actually attacking the warrior actors on set. And when ancient Eldritch magic is thrown into the mix, things only get wilder. One highlight teased in the trailer? The Minions summon what they hope will be a terrifying creature, only to end up with a “disappointingly cute Cthulhu monster,” as ComicBook.com reports. Naturally, this leads to a quest for more “legitimate” monsters and even more hijinks.
“So you need monsters for your movie? I know the scariest monsters!” a Minion exclaims in the trailer, setting the tone for the film’s self-aware, tongue-in-cheek humor. The movie-within-a-movie conceit is expected to offer plenty of opportunities for meta-jokes and nods to Hollywood’s golden age, keeping both kids and their parents entertained. As ComicBook.com points out, the Minions movies have always walked the line between kid-friendly antics and sly, grown-up jokes—a strategy that’s helped make the franchise a hit with families worldwide.
Behind the scenes, Minions & Monsters boasts an impressive creative team. Pierre Coffin, the Academy Award-nominated director who has helmed every Minions film and the first three Despicable Me installments, returns to direct and once again provides the iconic voices for the Minions. The screenplay is penned by Brian Lynch, known for his work on Minions and The Secret Life of Pets films, alongside Coffin. Production is in the hands of Illumination’s founder and CEO Chris Meledandri, as well as Bill Ryan, who served as executive producer on The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
While the trailer didn’t reveal the full voice cast, previous Minions films have featured a star-studded lineup, including Sandra Bullock, Jon Hamm, Steve Carell (as the infamous Gru), Alan Arkin, Taraji P. Henson, and many more. Whether Carell’s Gru will make an appearance remains a mystery, but fans are certainly hoping for a surprise cameo.
The Minions themselves have come a long way since their debut as Gru’s bumbling sidekicks in 2010’s Despicable Me. Over the past decade, they’ve become pop-culture icons, helping propel the franchise to nearly $5 billion in worldwide box office revenue, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Their last big-screen outing was in 2024’s Despicable Me 4, following 2022’s Minions: The Rise of Gru. Director Chris Renaud, who helmed Despicable Me 4, told The Hollywood Reporter in 2024 that the creative team is always on the lookout for new directions to take the characters: “There are always conversations like that, and what we can do and where we can go with the characters… How can we keep it exciting and fresh? We’ll see what happens.”
With Minions & Monsters, it seems the answer is to go bigger, wackier, and more ambitious than ever before. The film is described as “the rambunctious, ridiculous, totally true story of how the Minions conquered Hollywood, became movie stars, lost everything, unleashed monsters onto the world and then banded together to try and save the planet from the mayhem they had just created,” as stated in the official trailer release and echoed by multiple outlets including FirstShowing.net and Illumination.
Adding to the excitement, Universal is expected to roll out a wave of promotional events and exclusive merchandise at its international theme parks as the summer release approaches. Fans can look forward to new Minions-themed attractions, collectibles, and plenty of opportunities to snap selfies with their favorite yellow troublemakers, according to Universal Parks News Today.
For those keeping track, the title Minions & Monsters may sound familiar. As ComicBook.com notes, it was previously used for a Minions Mini-Movie that aired on NBC in 2021 and was later bundled with the home release of Minions: The Rise of Gru. However, aside from the name, the new feature film is entirely unrelated to that earlier short.
With the promise of slapstick chaos, inventive animation, and a fresh setting in the roaring twenties, Minions & Monsters is poised to be a summer box office juggernaut—and perhaps even the next billion-dollar hit for Universal’s ever-expanding animated universe. As fans eagerly count down the days to July 1, the only real question is: what could possibly go wrong when you let a bunch of Minions loose in Hollywood with a spellbook?
One thing’s for sure: audiences are in for a wild ride.