Minions & Monsters, the latest installment in the Despicable Me and Minions franchise, has reignited fan curiosity about the enigmatic yellow creatures. Director Pierre Coffin, who also provides the voice for all Minions, has addressed three prominent questions that have circulated among fans for years: the Minions' method of reproduction, their apparent immortality, and their activities during World War II.
Regarding reproduction, Coffin explained that while a deleted scene from the 2015 prequel Minions showed them evolving from single-celled organisms, the exact process remains a mystery. He revealed a scrapped concept for Minions & Monsters that would have depicted the Minions originating from the Big Bang, suggesting they might be a fundamental part of the universe's formation. This idea was ultimately deemed too far removed from the film's narrative but could be explored in future installments.
The question of Minion mortality has also been a persistent one, given their frequent brushes with peril across the films. Coffin stated definitively that Minions cannot die. He noted that despite numerous instances of them being blown up, run over, or launched into space, they invariably recover. "We tried multiple times, but they seem to come back alive every time for some reason. So I'm guessing they can't die," Coffin remarked.
Finally, the persistent query about the Minions' whereabouts during World War II, specifically whether any served Adolf Hitler, was also addressed. Minions & Monsters introduces the concept of multiple Minion tribes, complicating previous explanations that placed a single group in hiding from 1812 to 1968. Coffin acknowledged the popular nature of this question and confirmed that the Minions featured in the new film, as well as those from the first Minions movie, did not work for Hitler. The Minions from the first film were in the cave, while the origins and activities of the other tribes during that period remain unspecified.
Minions & Monsters is currently in theaters.