As the co-creator of South Park, Trey Parker’s voice is instantly recognizable to an entire generation of comedy fans. It’s through his mouth that the words of Eric Cartman, Stan and Randy Marsh, and many other residents of the quiet, redneck mountain town originate. Now, for the first time ever, he’s signed on to provide the voice of a character that isn’t of his own creation.
Parker will play the villain in next summer’s Despicable Me 3, Universal revealed during CinemaCon. He’s signed on to voice Balthazar Bratt, a former child star who, as animation studio Illumination’s CEO Chris Meledandri put it, is “driven to supervillainy as a result of the abrupt cancelation of his TV series when he hit puberty.” Described as “a character clearly stuck in the ’80s,” his purple-ish costume will feature large shoulder pads and umbrella pants.
Meledandri added that, “This is the very first time he had ever been directed by anyone else but himself.” (That’s not entirely true according to IMDB, though it’s certainly the first voice work he’s done for a different director.) Steve Carell will return for the three-quel to play two characters: the series’ lead, Gru, and his long-lost twin brother, Dru. Dru is the polar opposite of Gru, so imagine Gru with hair and wearing a white jacket and you’ve pretty much got it. Despicable Me 3 is due out in theaters on June 30th, 2017.
