Illumination Entertainment and Universal Pictures spawned not one, but hopefully two new franchises with the release of 2010’s animated feature Despicable Me.  A direct sequel, Despicable Me 2, is already set for release in July 2013, but Deadline now reports that the studios have quietly been working on a spinoff featuring those adorable/pesky little Minions.  The spinoff feature is currently without a title, but Pierre Coffin (Despicable Me) will direct with Kyle Balda (The Lorax) acting as co-director.  Brian Lynch (Hop, Puss in Boots) has already written the screenplay.  Hit the jump for more.

No plot details are given, but the original story will focus on The Minions as they interact with human characters.  It’ll be interesting to see how the characters carry a full feature film, given that they have no intelligible dialogue in the first pic.  Fans (especially kids) got a big kick out of the creatures in Despicable Me, and Universal has already opened an amusement park ride centering on The Minions at Universal Studios Florida.  Given their immense popularity, it’s not hard to see why the spinoff feature was given the go-ahead.

In addition to the spinoff, Coffin is also directing Despicable Me 2.  Production of both films is being coordinated so that Coffin can move right into the spinoff after DM2, allowing for the films to open one year apart.  The untitled spinoff is currently slated for release sometime in 2014.  Watch the all-Minion teaser trailer for Despicable Me 2 below.