Bob the Minion is one of the most popular icons of the Despicable Me universe, but he only has a minor role in the four main movies.
After their breakout stardom in Despicable Me, the Minions got a big-screen solo adventure in 2015 with a sequel following in 2022.
The two spin-off flicks took place many years before the main Despicable Me movies and mainly followed the Minions Bob, Kevin, and Stuart.
Where Is Bob in the Despicable Me Movies?
Bob debuted in a post-credits stinger for 2012's Despicable Me 2 where he, Kevin, and Stuart were taking part in auditions for the Minions movie. The banana-eating trio returned three years later in the billion-dollar-grossing 2015 spin-off.
All three were absent from 2017's Despicable Me 3 before coming back to show their early days with Steve Carell's Gru in 2022's Minions: The Rise of Gru. Despite not taking on a major role in Despicable Me 4, Bob, Kevin, and Stuart did have a cameo appearance in the ending.
Until recently, some had speculated their omission from the main Despicable Me franchise was to avoid spoiling their fate in future Minions sequels. After all, had Bob, Kevin, and Stuart appeared in the present-day-set flicks, it would have killed any tension surrounding their fates in the 20th-century spin-off movies.
But thankfully, Despicable Me 4 has finally confirmed the iconic Minions are alive and well in the present day and still working with Gru.
While there has been no comment on why Bob and the others have such small roles in the main Despicable Me movies, one explanation could be due to their existing spotlight in their spin-off adventures.
As the trio are already the stars of their very own franchise, the Despicable Me creatives may be opting to focus the limited runtime of the main movies on other characters and Minions.
[ Despicable Me and Minions Movies in Chronological Order ]
Will Bob the Minon Return to Despicable Me?
Illumination Entertainment has developed a pattern of rotating back and forth between a Despicable Me and Minions movie since the franchise's second installment hit the big screen in 2012. So with Despicable Me 4 finally now playing in theaters, one has to wonder if Minions 3 could be next on the horizon.
At the time of writing, Minions 3 hasn't been announced by Illumination, but after The Rise of Gru brought in over $940 million worldwide and became a viral phenomenon, it would be surprising if a threequel wasn't on the cards.
Despicable Me 4 director Chris Renaud already told Entertainment Weekly that "there's a couple of things that have been discussed" regarding the future of the franchise which "lends itself to multiple stories."
Fans of the Despicable Me franchise likely haven't seen the last of their beloved Bob, especially if Minions 3 does see the light of day as he would almost certainly continue to be among the spin-off's leads.
Now that his cameo in Despicable Me 4 has neatly tied together the main franchise with its Minion-centric spin-offs, one has to wonder if he could take on a larger role in a potential sequel to Gru's latest adventure.
Despicable Me 4 is playing now in theaters.
Read more about Despicable Me:
Despicable Me 4 Cast, Characters & Actors (Photos)
Despicable Me 4 Minions Popcorn Buckets from AMC & Cinemark: Where to Buy Them
