Al Pacino has dropped out of the hotly anticipated upcoming sequel Despicable Me 2 over the weekend.
According to Deadline, Pacino, who had been cast as the voice of Eduardo in the film, and folks at Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment decided to part ways after encountering some “creative differences” during recording.
Within days, the producers have cast Benjamin Bratt, who is better known from “Law & Order” and “Miss Congeniality,” to fill the vacancy left by Pacino, Illumination Entertainment told Variety.
“Universal and Illumination thank Al for his many contributions to the process and look forward to a new actor bringing this memorable character to the screen upon its release this summer,” the studio wrote in a statement.
Although the film’s release date, July 3rd, is less than two months away, the producers are confident that this change will not affect the scheduled release date.
The first Despicable Me released in 2010 was one of Universal’s most profitable films ever, generating more than $540 million worldwide on a $69 million budget.
