Thirteen years after the launch of one of gaming’s biggest sensations, Minecraft is getting a live-action adaptation titled A Minecraft Movie and boy, does it look weird. The first teaser trailer has just been released, giving a first look at Jack Black as the iconic builder Steve. The film will also star Jason Momoa, Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks and Sebastien Eugene Hansen, among others.
Check out the wacky minute-long trailer here:
In a rather baffling design choice, the film features regular human characters against its otherwise full CGI backdrop, forgoing the iconic blocky style of the game’s villagers. Animated characters such as Creepers and Piglins are also infused with a dose of realism, although the animals in particular look a little out of place. (The howling wolf looks like it just went through a botched grooming session.)
Napoleon Dynamite director Jared Hess will be helming the film, marking his first big-budget title. In an interview with The Salt Lake Tribune earlier this year, Hess remarked on the challenges of adapting such a beloved video game title. “There’s got to be a fun, ridiculous movie here,” he said, “I just can’t disappoint the 10-year-olds, or they’re going to murder us.”
Hess’ fears are certainly justified in this instance. With its original beta launch in early 2011, Minecraft surpassed over a million purchases in less than a month, becoming the 6th best-selling PC game of all time in 2012 and selling over 300 million copies worldwide as of 2023. Here’s hoping that the film would fully embrace its absurd nature and pay respect to such a legendary franchise.
A Minecraft Movie is slated to hit theatres on 4 April 2025.
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise “duds” like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3. He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.
Natalie
Trinity Sun
