One of the biggest cinematic franchises, Despicable Me, have begun to take shots at everyone in Hollywood, with the Mega Minions: Megaverse.
As Hollywood enters a new era of franchises, spin-offs and new widespread tropes, many audience members have become tired of the status quo, and with Despicable Me on the franchise’s sixth entry, Illumination has decided to play into it. In a new promo, Steve Carell (the voice of Gru) advertised a new slate of films titled The Megaverse, parodying the release slates of franchises of all sorts.
There are no-less than 37 titles on the slate and many of them provide commentary on high-profile hollywood franchises and tropes. Here is a list of our five favorite spoofs presented on timeline.
5. ‘Mega Minions: Multiverse of Margos’
A direct parody of the name and logo of Marvel Studios’ Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The logo directly mirrors some of the art created for the Sam Raimi movie and also features a girl (or woman in this case) in a prominent multiversal role. Illumination describes it as “A villain emerges with the power to change history, forcing the Mega Minions to navigate a labyrinth of plot holes to preserve continuity.” It calls out several of the plot contrivances and holes in the Marvel flick in a comedic way.
4. ‘Mega Minions: The Tax Write Off’
Calling out Warner Bros. now, the Mega Minions take a shot at the Batgirl fiasco, which saw the cancellation of a complete film and its subsequent deletion. The logline for this one reads “The AVL finds itself entangled in a complex audit. Will the Mega Minions be buried in itemized receipts or conquer the spreadsheet of destiny?”
3. ‘Mega Minions: Beyond Time’
Back at Marvel Studios for this one, Mega Minions throws Avengers: Endgame and Avengers: Secret Wars under the bus. With the description “Facing their greatest enemy yet—boredom—the Megas plan an over-the-top, all-or-nothing finale, filled with every trope known to Minionkind”, it highlights some of the shortcomings audiences find in these saga enders.
2. ‘Mega Minions: Quantum of Soulless’
The Mega Minions attack the James Bond franchise with this one, riffing off its name as a commentary stating how soulless some of these films have become. The tagline reads: “The Mega Minions struggle to stay engaged while battling a bland corporate villain with generic evil intent.”
1. ‘Mad Mega: Furry Road’
My personal favorite takes the name from the Mad Max franchise, particularly the beloved Mad Max: Fury Road, and takes its description from the Planet of the Apes franchise. It reads: “The Mega Minions find themselves imprisoned in a post-apocalyptic city populated by anthropomorphic party animals.”
There are 32 other titles on the slate so be sure to check it out for yourself, you can find it in the below video or on the site linked here
Despicable Me 4 is directed by Chris Renaud and stars Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Will Ferrell, Sofía Vergara, Joey King, Stephen Colbert, Chloe Fineman, and Miranda Cosgrove. It is produced by Illumination and will be released in theaters in the US on July 3rd, 2024.
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