Al Pacino Drops Out Of ‘Despicable Me 2’

Al Pacino has dropped out of the upcoming sequel Despicable Me 2.

The legendary actor had been tapped to voice the villain Eduardo in the upcoming animated flick. However, it would seem that Pacino has bumped heads with the filmmakers on the project.

Sources explained to Deadline that Pacino and the folks at Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment decided to part ways after encountering some “creative differences” during recording.

The studio said in a statement:

“Over the production of Despicable Me 2, there were creative differences between us and Al Pacino, who had been cast as the voice of Eduardo in the film. We have mutually decided with Al to replace the voice of Eduardo with a new actor. Universal and Illumination thank Al for his many contributions to the process and look forward to a new actor bringing this memorable character to the screen upon its release this summer.”

Although Despicable Me 2 is slated to arrive in less than two months time, the producers have cast someone else to tackle the role. Illumination Entertainment told Variety that Benjamin Bratt has been hired to fill the vacancy left by Al Pacino.

Despite having to re-record quite a bit of dialogue before the sequel’s July release date, producers are confident that Pacino’s departure won’t have an effect on the picture’s release date. It would appear that the filmmakers have quite a bit of work to do between now and then.

The first Despicable Me proved to be quite lucrative for the folks at Universal. Made on a budget of approximately $69 million, the film went on to make a staggering $540 million around the world. The studio is no doubt hoping to replicate that success with the forthcoming follow-up.

Unless re-recording the dialogue proves problematic, Despicable Me 2 should arrive in theaters on July 2.

Are you a fan of Al Pacino? What do you think about the legendary actor dropping out of the Despicable Me sequel?