Bardem leaves the role for the villain in the sequel wide open

Already being animated and recorded for next year, Despicable Me 2 is fast approaching. The sequel to the hit family CGI comedy from 2010 has been developing for the past year or so now, and the last we really heard of it was when Javier Bardem joined the voice cast as the villain of the second film. Now, however, that appears to be over, as it’s been announced Bardem has left the movie.

Heat Vision reported on the departure, and honestly it’s quite understandable. Right now, Bardem is hard at work on the next Bond film Skyfall, and it’s going to take up a good amount of his time. Scheduling conflicts could easily be to blame, or something else entirely, but all it says is that Bardem has left the project.

Bardem was set to voice the new villain El Macho, which is still very much up for grabs. There’s no definite answer as to who will step in to Bardem’s shoes for the sequel, but it should be interesting to see, given the almost Luchador name in nature.

The film’s voice cast already includes Steve Carell and Miranda Cosgrove reprising their roles from the first film, but as for the rest of the crew, it’s completely up in the air. We can expect to see Russell Brand back in his elderly get up as Dr. Nefario, but whether or not Will Arnett and Jason Segel will return for the sequel is definitely a constant question.

Production on the film began last October, but it’s unclear just how much of Bardem’s part was recorded already. Expect Universal Pictures/Illumination Entertainment to recast the role sometime soon, though.

Despicable Me 2 will hit theaters on July 3rd, 2013.