Al Pacino Replaced By Benjamin Bratt In ‘Despicable Me 2’
Al Pacino has been replaced by Benjamin Bratt to play the role of the villain Eduardo in the upcoming animated movie Despicable Me 2. Bratt is most known for his roles in Miss Congeniality and Catwoman.
The 49-year-old actor was chosen as a replacement after Pacino dropped out of the upcoming sequel that stars Steve Carrell. The movie is set for release on July 3rd and Bratt will join the cast and voice the character of Eduardo, the evil nemesis of Gru, voiced by Carrell.
According to Deadline, Al Pacino left the movie because of “creative differences” with Universal Studios and production company Illumination Entertainment. Though Pacino won’t be in Despicable Me 2, he is currently in pre-production for multiple films and recently starred in the 2013 TV action movie Phil Spector.
He is also set to play Joe Paterno in the future film Happy Valley about the historical coaches life at Penn State University. The film will link Pacino back up with Brian DePalma, who also directed Scarface and Carlito’s Way.
As Al Pacino’s replacement, Bratt has now signed on for his second animated film in 2013 as he plays the voice of Manny in another sequel, Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs 2.
The film stars Anna Faris and Neil Patrick Harris but won’t release until late September as it’s still in post-production. Bratt will now have to get on the ball with his new role as Despicable Me 2 is set for release in less than two months.
The loss of Al Pacino shouldn’t hurt as the first film became one of Universal’s highest selling of all-time. Despicable Me was released in 2010 and made over $450 million at the box office.
The change in actors shouldn’t push the release date back as it’s quite honestly too late. Most release dates change well in advance and pushing a film back two months before it’s release is unheard of.
Do you believe Benjamin Bratt will play the villain role of Eduardo better than Al Pacino in Despicable Me 2?
[Image via Peter Martorano | Frank Kovalchek]
