Summary

• The Despicable Me franchise has gained critical and commercial success, with over $540 million worldwide and numerous accolades.
• There are two ways to watch the Despicable Me and Minions movies: in release order or chronologically.
• Despicable Me 4, set to release in 2024, will continue the story of Gru, his wife, and their adopted kids in the Anti-Villain League.

For anyone wanting to catch up with Gru and his legion of yellow Minion sidekicks, there are two ways to binge-watch the Despicable Me movies in order. The first Despicable Me was received positively by both critics and fans alike and went on to gross more than $540 million worldwide (via Box Office Mojo), spawning two direct sequels, the Minion movies, and several short films, television specials, video games, and even a theme park attraction at multiple Universal Studios locations. They even picked up an Oscar nomination, two Golden Globes nominations, and two BAFTA wins.

The original trio of Despicable Me movies follows the story of super villain-turned-father Felonious Gru, his three adopted daughters, Margo, Edith, and Agnes, and his eventual wife, Lucy Wilde. While the franchise's odd yellow Minions are largely presented as Gru's backup in his evil plans throughout the Despicable Me movies, the popularity of the little creatures saw them receive their very own prequel in 2015. Minions became the first entry in the series to generate more than $1 billion at the global box office, and Minions: The Rise of Gru beat that. This also opened up two ways to watch the movies — in release order and chronologically.

Despicable Me & Minions Movies In Release Order

The Despicable Me viewing order hasn't been released in a perfectly straight line, but it's still fairly straightforward. The first animated film was released in 2010. A massive surge in popularity for the Minions characters led to the release of the Minions prequel between the second and third films in the core trilogy. Minions: The Rise of Gru followed as a sequel to the Minion movies, but still took place prior to the events of Gru's attempted moon heist in Despicable Me. Illumination has already confirmed that Despicable Me 4 will arrive in theaters in July 2024. The Despicable Me viewing order by release date is as follows:

• Despicable Me (2010)
• Despicable Me 2 (2013)
• Minions (2015)
• Despicable Me 3 (2017)
• Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022)
• Despicable Me 4 (2024)

Despicable Me & Minions Movies In Chronological Order

The Despicable Me viewing order chronologically is as follows:

• 1968: Minions (2015)
• 1972: Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022)
• 2012: Despicable Me (2010)
• 2013: Despicable Me 2 (2013)
• 2014: Despicable Me 3 (2017)

The first Minions movie in order starts its story in 3.8 billion BC when they show up when the Earth itself formed. However, the movie then moves into the future where they work for dinosaurs, Egyptian pharaohs, and even vampires. While wild and unpredictable, the Minions are all dedicated henchmen at their core. Kevin, Stuart, and Bob attempt to find a supervillain to serve, and the central plot of Minions takes place in 1968 when they meet Scarlet Overkill and find their next villain to follow.

A young Gru meets the Minions at the end of the first Minions movie, and their story picks up in Minions: The Rise of Gru in 1976. This is when Gru decides to become a full-fledged supervillain and wants to join the Felonious Five. Gru wants nothing to do with the Minions at first, but when they help him along the way, he develops an affinity for them, and they remain his minions for many years to come.

After this, the Despicable Me movies remain in chronological order. The first movie, Despicable Me, starts off in 2012 when Gru is still a villain and has a rivalry with Vector. This is also where he adopts his three girls — Margo, Agnes, and Enid.

Despicable Me 2 is set in 2013, taking place only one year after that first movie. This is where Gru attempts to work for the Anti-Villain League. The second movie in the Despicable Me franchise ends with Gru marrying Lucy.

Finally, the third movie, Despicable Me 3, takes place four years later in 2017. Gru learns he has a twin brother named Dru, and they have to fight to stop the villain, Balthazar Bratt. By the end of that movie, most of the Minions leave Gru to join up with Dru, which should lead to the upcoming Despicable Me 4.

How The Minions Timeline Cleverly Avoided WW2 & Other Modern Atrocities

It's been confirmed that the Minions exist in the same universe as several dictators and other real-life villains of history, thanks to the Minion's opening scene — a topic that the Despicable Me movies have cleverly avoided. The Minion movie's opening scene is all fun and games when they're able to poke fun at dictators like Napoleon, but it becomes much darker when one considers something like the atrocities of WWII. How the Minion movies surpass this dark moment in history is by making the Minions inactive during the Second World War and then bringing the Minions into the 21st century to be with Gru.

This helps the series avoid tackling the question of just who the Minions would've been working for during this time since their main purpose is chaos and destruction. Making the Minions inactive during this time period also takes the ethical ramifications of said subject away. This is how the franchise was able to avoid tackling complex matters of history that would have directly or indirectly involved their villainy.

Despicable Me 4 Will Be In Chronological Order

The next movie in the franchise will hit in 2024 and viewers have the answer to where it falls in the Despicable Me timeline. When asked about the movie, star Steve Carell explained that this is a continuation of the Despicable Me movies and not the Minions movies (via Digital Spy). This means that Gru will be back with his wife and adopted kids in Despicable Me 4 as they team up in the Anti-Villain League.

"It's the next step in their world with the Anti-Villain League and how their kids are included in the whole process," Carell explained.

When looking at the Despicable Me movies in order, this will be the sixth in the series. It arrives 2 years after the last movie in the franchise and 14 years since Gru made his first appearance in Despicable Me. When watching the movies in the Despicable Me viewing order chronologically, it will also be the sixth in the series, as all the Minions movies so far have been prequels to the main series. The movie arrives seven years after the third movie, making this the first time that Lucy and the three kids will be in a movie since the third Despicable Me.

Key Release Dates

• 

  Despicable Me 4

  Release Date:

  2024-07-03