'Minions: The Rise Of Gru' Is The Latest Film To Be Delayed By The Coronavirus

Sorry, Minions nation. I know you've all got your Minions baseball caps and Minions basketball shorts on, counting down the days until Minions: The Rise of Gru hits theaters and brings a plethora of fresh fart jokes to the world. But sadly, you're going to have to wait a little bit longer. Yes, all the Minions – like the short one, and the one that looks like a penis, and the one who keeps showing his bare ass – have all been delayed indefinitely due to the coronavirus.  

The Minions: The Rise of Gru release date has been pulled from July 3 and pushed...nowhere, at least for the time being. Rather than announce a new release date, Universal is taking a wait-and-see approach to the film, which joins an ever-growing list of upcoming movies that have been removed from their release dates. Theaters across the country are closing down in the wake of coronavirus panic, and while some films are getting the digital treatment early, others are being put on hold.

Interestingly enough, Universal decided to put another one of their upcoming animated movies, Trolls: World Tour, on digital next month. Does this mean they'll probably do the same thing with Minions? It's perhaps too early to tell – July is still a few months away, and Universal is likely hoping the current situation we're in will be over in time to still release Minions on the big screen and earn that big box office bank.

There's also the fact that Rise of Gru isn't actually finished yet. As Chris Meledandri, founder and CEO of Illumination, said in a statement (via Variety):

"In response to the severity of the situation in France, we are temporarily closing our Illumination Mac Guff studio in Paris. With this decision we are abiding by the French Government's guidelines and doing everything possible to slow the spread of the virus as we care for our artists and their families. This means we will be unable to finish Minions: The Rise of Gru in time for our planned global releases in late June and early July. While we all grapple with the enormity of this crisis, we must put the safety and protection of our employees above all. We look forward to finding a new release date for the return of Gru and the Minions."

Of course, looking forward to a new release date assuming movie theaters will even still exist in the near future. Theaters are facing the crunch due to closures, and many don't have the liquid assets to hang in there during this downtime and then return as if nothing happened. NATO (the National Association of Theatre Owners) have pledged $1 million to employees during the shutdowns, while also asking congress for a movie theater bailout. Whether or not such a bailout will happen remains to be seen. In short, things are very dire right now, and it would be nice if they weren't.

Anyway, uh...MinionsThe Rise of Gru! Coming soon! Maybe.