The upcoming Minecraft Movie produced by Warner Brothers and Legendary Entertainment in partnership with Microsoft, is an ambitous project to turn a beloved multi-generational video game into a successful movie. As detailed in a new interview with Variety, the filmmakers are acutely aware of the challenges of adapting such a beloved, multi-generational game into a successful movie.
Unlike previous video game adaptations like the ill-fated Borderlands or Halo TV series, A Minecraft Movie seeks to avoid the pitfalls of its predecessors.
However, not everyone can pull off the success of the likes of The Last of Us and Fallout, especially with a game defined by player creativity and freedom.
Making Jack Black play hundreds of hours of Xbox
The choice of Jack Black to play the enigmatic Steve was a controversial one, especially being as he is so unapologetically Jack Black in the trailer. However, Black wasn’t always penned to play Steve.
“His character was originally a talking pig, and it was very, very, very late in the development where we had the idea to switch it to become Steve, because we needed an expert and host,” says Torfi Frans Ólafsson, Mojang’s senior director.
“This is not my Steve or your Steve — this is Jack Black’s Steve. A lot of fans responded when they saw the first teasers and trailers, like, ‘Hey, wait a minute — this is just Jack Black. This isn’t Jack Black being someone else.’ And maybe it is, because this is literally him interpreting this character and what it means to him.”
Ólafsson shares with Variety how seriously Jack Black took his new role on set, helped somewhat by Ólafsson’s insistence on having Xbox consoles set up in the trailers, and private Minecraft servers for the cast and crew to play together.
Jack Black managed to rack up over 100 hours playing Minecraft becoming “the most passionate” player on set.
“He was just completely manic, hoarding stuff in the mines, searching for lapis lazuli because he liked the way it sounds,” Ólafsson recalls, mentioning the bright-blue stones that figure into the game. “He kept saying it: ‘Can I talk about lapis lazuli in the movie?’”
A Minecraft Movie Hero Pack available to download today
Fans can already get a taste of the movie with in-game content. In addition to A Minecraft Movie add-on which adds new Piglins, bosses and weapons from the movie, today you can also grab the Hero Pack which lets you become Jack Black in your own Minecraft game, or Jason Momoa and his fetching pink jacket.
The merchandise train is fully in swing too with a bunch of Minecraft Movie toys already on the shelves ahead of the movie’s launch on April 4, 2025.
As a parent and gamer, I’m excited about the Minecraft Movie. It’s rare to find a game that bridges generational gaps, and Minecraft has been instrumental in introducing both my teenager and my 4-year-old to video games, and is one game we can all enjoy together. I’m hoping the movie will be a similar experience.
The filmmakers seem to understand this responsibility. Ólafsson shares the pressure he feels: “The goalpost is if my kids think I didn’t screw it up. My 18-year-old son, who grew up with Minecraft, has pleaded, ‘Just don’t let them screw this up.’”
We’re all hoping the same. Don’t let us down, Warner Bros!
