'Minions: The Rise of Gru' drops death-defying teaser trailer ahead of Summer 2022 release

Our favorite banana-loving henchmen in blue overalls are finally making their way back to the silver screen after more than a year of COVID-related delays. Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment confirmed an early July 2022 release for Minions: The Rise of Gru with the premiere of a death-defying teaser trailer set to Mötley Crüe's "Home Sweet Home."

Originally slated to premiere in summer of 2020, the sequel to 2015's Minions was ultimately delayed when Illumination's animation studio in France was forced to shut down at the height of the global health crisis.

Set during the 1970s, The Rise of Gru follows the titular mastermind (Steve Carrell) during his boyhood days as he attempts to join the world's most elite team of super-villains known as the Vicious 6. Their members include: Belle Bottom (Taraji P. Henson), Jean Clawed (Jean-Claude Van Damme), Nunchuck (Lucy Lawless), Svengeance (Dolph Lundgren), and Stronghold (Danny Trejo). When Gru is rejected, however, he double crosses the dastardly group and finds himself on the run and in need of some help from the Vicious 6's ousted leader, Wild Knuckles (Alan Arkin).

Russell Brand (Dr. Nefario Gru's mad-scientist-in-chief), Michelle Yeoh (Master Chow, an acupuncturist and kung fu master), and Julie Andrews (Gru's mother) co-star.

Watch the new teaser below:

Kyle Balda (Minions), Brad Ableson (The Simpsons) and Jonathan del Val (The Secret Life of Pets) co-directed the kid-friendly follow-up. Illumination founder and CEO Chris Meledandri produces alongside Janet Healy and Chris Renaud. Given the rather groovy time period in which it takes place, the film features a soundtrack of '70s hits curated by Grammy-winning music producer and Bleachers founder, Jack Antonoff.

Released in July of 2015, the first Minions title went on to become the highest-grossing animated film in history with a little over $1 billion at the worldwide box office. It is now the fourth highest-grossing animated project of all time, sitting behind a trio of Disney offerings: Incredibles 2, Frozen, and Frozen II.

Speaking with Den of Geek around the original movie's debut, Balda stated that a lot of the Minion-based mayhem is inspired by the physical and slapstick comedy of screen legends like Charlie Chaplin and Peter Sellers.

"Especially because the minions aren’t using language that’s discernible, Charlie Chaplin is instantly in mind," the director explained. "Peter Sellers, although he spoke in his movies, most of his comedy was visual. He had so many of the same ideas that Chaplin did, but could be a little more subtle. Chaplin, it’s almost always a full shot, you see the entire body. With Peter Sellers, you could go into close ups, and you could do much more with his eye for instance, and not really rely on dialogue."

Minions: The Rise of Gru arrives on the big screen Friday, July 1, 2022.

Universal Pictures, Illumination Entertainment & SYFY WIRE are all owned by NBCUniversal