Star Wars Creator George Lucas To Star In Minions & Monsters, Confirms Illumination CEO

Star Wars creator George Lucas will reportedly make his first voice acting appearance in a major studio feature film in more than twenty years, thanks to an animated comedy about characters who are bright yellow and speak in meaningless jargon. A statement from Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri announced that Lucas will star in Minions & Monsters, the third film in the Minions prequel series and the seventh film to date in the Despicable Me franchise, on Friday, while speaking to Collider. He said,

We’re thrilled to have him in the film. I saw him recently, and he’s already talking to me about the role he wants to do next in the next Minions movie. So, it’s pretty incredible.

Note that this situation is a real surprise because Lucas has appeared on-screen only once before in a small capacity. In Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, he briefly appears in an uncredited, non-speaking role as Baron Papanoida, a minor role that virtually no one in the audience would have noticed. He also had uncredited cameos in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Hook, and Men in Black.

The film was directed by Pierre Coffin (the voice of Minions), co-written with Brian Lynch, and produced by Meledandri and Bill Ryan. The movie is scheduled for release in the US on July 1, 2026, after its world premiere at the Annecy Animation Festival on June 21, 2026.

All We Know About George Lucas’ Role In Minions & Monsters

Meledandri shared Lucas’ whole backstory with the publication that details how the whole George Lucas affiliation happened. It all goes back almost two years ago when he met the director for the first time. Meledandri said,

I had this privilege of meeting George about two years ago, and what led to my meeting him is how much he loves Illumination movies, and specifically Despicable Me, and even more specifically, the 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.

The casting was a naturally evolved extension of the story itself. Working on the character design, an organic idea popped into Mr. Meledandri as he felt Mr. Lucas would be right for the part in the movie, which made him to approach him directly. He commented on Lucas’ reaction, saying, “I had no idea, but I got such a fast yes.”

He further continued,

It was incredible.

On the other hand, George Lucas recorded his lines for the film whilst in Paris, and Meledandri notes that the filmmaker is interested in coming back to a 4th Minions film, with the director having his own ideas of what that role might be. The new movie is set four decades before the story of the original Minions (2015), as the yellow creatures become enamored with cinema and seek to make their own monster film, only to release real monsters along the way.

Joining Coffin in the voice cast will be Allison Janney, Christoph Waltz, Jeff Bridges, Jesse Eisenberg, Zoey Deutch, Bobby Moynihan, Phil LaMarr, and Trey Parker. Musically, the film is scored by John Powell, and it is 90 minutes long and is distributed by Universal Pictures.

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Minions & Monsters is set to release in theatres on July 1, 2026.