George Lucas joins voice cast of 'Minions & Monsters'
What's the story
George Lucas, the legendary filmmaker and creator of the Star Wars franchise, will be voicing a character in the upcoming animated movie Minions & Monsters. The news was confirmed by Chris Meledandri, CEO of Illumination Entertainment. This will be Lucas's first acting gig on the big screen since his uncredited cameo as Baron Papanoida in Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.
Unexpected meeting
How the collaboration came to be
Meledandri revealed that his meeting with Lucas was sparked by the director's love for Illumination movies, particularly Despicable Me and Minions. "It was such a thrill to learn that, and then to share it with the team because obviously he's among a very small group of people who the entire studio shares a level of respect for that is just off the charts," he told Collider.
Character details
This is what 'Minions & Monsters' is about
The upcoming animated film, a prequel to the original 60s-set Minions movie, takes the yellow creatures back to old Hollywood. Here, a group of Minions fall in love with cinema and try to make their own movie, inadvertently releasing some deadly monsters. Meledandri shared that an idea for a character came up out of the story, and he suggested Lucas for it.
Future plans
Lucas has ideas for a potential 4th 'Minions' movie
Meledandri also revealed that Lucas has already been thinking about a potential fourth Minions movie and has ideas for what his role could be in it. The Illumination CEO also shared that Lucas recorded his lines for the film in Paris. The character he voices will share the screen with a fictionalized version of Orson Welles, another Hollywood legend. The movie is helmed by Pierre Coffin and will feature the voices of Coffin, Trey Parker, Zoey Deutch, and Jesse Eisenberg.