Al Pacino departs 'Despicable Me 2'; Jon Hamm to voice 'Minions'

It's been no secret that Universal and Illumination Entertainment's focus on Despicable Me 2 has been geared towards those little yellow scamps, the Minions. Steve Carell may have been what helped put butts in seats for the first film, but he's been overshadowed by the popular sidekicks, and Universal is cashing in by giving them their own, self-titled spinoff coming in 2014. With only two months before the sequel opens, Universal is having to make some major changes, as one of their top celebrity voices just made for the exits.

Al Pacino had been set to to voice the villain Eduardo, but has now departed due to creative differences. Javier Bardem had initially been set for the role, but when he left Pacino took over. We had neither seen or heard anything of Pacino's character in the film, so maybe this explains why. Benjamin Bratt, last seen in the Dwayne Johnson drug thriller Snitch, will be stepping in to replace Pacino. Directors Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin will have to go back with Bratt and redo all of Pacino's scenes, which could be significant considering how long he was a part of the production. Bratt joins Carell, Kristen Wiig, Miranda Cosgrove, Russell Brand, Ken Jeong, and Steve Coogan for the July 3rd release.

Where one A-lister drops out, another one has stepped in for the spinoff, Minions. The ever-versatile Jon Hamm (Mad Men) has signed on to voice a major character in the film, which is set long before the minions ever served Gru. Taking place in the 1960s, it follows a group of minions who go off in search of a new leader to follow, and wind up serving Scarlet Overkill, a stylish, bad ass supervillain voiced by Sandra Bullock. Hamm will lend his vocal talents to her husband, Herb Overkill.

It's another example of the many talents Hamm has at his disposal, as we've heard him voice a number of animated characters in the past, including playing Brogan the Ogre in Shrek Forever After. He's recently wrapped Clear History, the HBO comedy film from Greg Mottola and Larry David. Next up for him is the Disney sports drama, Million Dollar Arm.

Minions is slated to hit theaters on December 19th 2014.