Al Pacino Quit ‘Despicable Me 2’ Over ‘Creative Differences’
The Despicable Me franchise brings an infectious animated adventure to families around the world. It showcases another side to the typical good vs. evil storytelling. As a result, these movies are able to attract big voice-acting talent. However, Al Pacino ultimately quit Despicable Me 2 over “creative differences” regarding how to best bring Eduardo Pérez and El Macho to life.
Al Pacino was set to play Eduardo Pérez and El Macho in ‘Despicable Me 2’
Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) gave up his life of crime in order to raise Margo (voiced by Miranda Cosgrove), Agnes (voiced by Elsie Fisher), and Edith (voiced by Dana Gaier). However, he’s trying to figure out how to best provide for his new family. The Anti-Villain League (AVL) conveniently comes calling for his help to fight the forces of evil. They send Gru on a mission to apprehend the villain behind a massive heist.
Gru sets up a cupcake shop at the Paradise Shopping Mall as a front for undercover activity. He immediately suspects a Mexican restaurant owner named Eduardo Pérez of being “El Macho,” a supervillain who previously went missing. Pacino was set to voice the role, although Benjamin Bratt replaced him after he already recorded voice lines.
Al Pacino quit over ‘creative differences’ regarding the character
Mercury News interviewed Chris Renaud about Pacino’s absence from Despicable Me 2. He explained that the actor left the production as a result of “creative differences.” However, Renaud didn’t dig into exactly what direction Pacino wanted to take the character in.
“[Pacino] gave us some incredible contributions,” Renaud said. “But Benjamin Bratt was another actor we were considering before Al. So we don’t want an unhappy actor, and we want something that is well-realized on all sides. If you don’t see eye to eye, sometimes it’s easier to [part company] and move on from there.”
Collider interviewed Bratt to talk about his experience working on the animated film. However, he viewed replacing Pacino in Despicable Me 2 as one of his biggest challenges in the project.
“Our initial approach was to replicate what Al Pacino did, but of course, we found that to be impossible,” Bratt said. “It was a waste of two days trying to mimic essentially what he had done because no one can out-Al Pacino Al Pacino, and no one should dare try. So I simply used what he did as an inspiration and as a guide for what I needed to do, which was to find something within me and my own personal recollections to bring to it.
‘Despicable Me 2’ is a hit for Netflix
The Despicable Me franchise continues to expand. There are currently three films set within the main series, although Despicable Me 4 is set to hit theaters in 2024. Despicable Me and its sequel are currently a couple of the most popular titles streaming at Netflix, further proving the franchise’s longevity. Pacino would be a great addition to Despicable Me 2, but it’s clear that audiences love it all the same.
However, the minds behind the franchise understand how to expand on this series. 2015’s Minions is a spinoff prequel. Meanwhile, Minions: The Rise of Gru will seek to further explore this spinoff universe through the Minion characters that so many audiences adore later this year.
