Everything you need to know about Minecraft the movie

Ten years ago, The Lego Movie proved that almost anything can be turned into a movie if the right team is behind the film. That paved the way for Barbie, which was a staggeringly massive success, and for films like The Emoji Movie, which was not. Now, Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment are going to take a shot at making a hit movie by getting behind an adaptation of the most successful video game of all time: Minecraft.

At first glance, Minecraft doesn’t seem like a natural choice for a movie. Aside from the spinoff game Minecraft: Story Mode, there’s not much in the way of mythology for the filmmakers to work with. Minecraft is a game that lets its players mine for resources and build almost anything they can imagine. The game has been out since 2011, and it’s still incredibly popular. There may not be much of a story behind Minecraft, but that’s a problem that The Lego Movie and Barbie were able to overcome. If the Minecraft movie can pull off that feat as well, it could become a massive hit.

Is the Minecraft movie live-action or animated?

Although the aesthetic of the Minecraft video game would probably be better served in animation, the movie will be in live-action. Officially, we haven’t seen any indication about how that’s going to work on-screen. Unofficially, some of the props from Minecraft have leaked online.

The pics aren’t worth getting too excited about, because they just show a tree and a wall. But the design of both props indicates that Minecraft‘s infamously blocky objects will be recreated in live-action.

Why has it taken over a decade for a Minecraft movie to be made?

From the start, Minecraft has had trouble holding on to its creative teams. Warner Bros. and Legendary signed a deal with Minecraft developer Mojang to create the Minecraft movie in 2014. At the time, Deadpool & Wolverine director Shawn Levy was slated to helm the film from a script by Kieran and Michele Mulroney. But by the end of 2014, Levy and the Mulroneys had left the project.

It took another six months before Rob McElhenney was announced as the new director in 2015, with screenwriter Jason Fuchs attached. Steve Carell was also signed to star in the film before he eventually dropped out of it. McElhenney then eft the film in 2018, and Aaron and Adam Nee were hired to write the next script. At the beginning of 2019, Peter Sollett signed on as the writer and director, before Allison Schroeder joined to co-write the film with him. But rather than stay with the project, Sollett went on to direct Metal Lords for Netflix. Schroeder also left the movie, which is where things stood before the current team joined the film in April 2022.

Who is directing and writing the Minecraft movie?

Jared Hess is directing Minecraft, and his previous credits include Napoleon Dynamite, Nacho Libre, and Masterminds. Chris Bowman and Hubbel Palmer are the screenwriters, and they previously worked with Hess on Masterminds.

Who is starring in Minecraft?

Jack Black has the leading role in Minecraft as a character named Steve. Black previous starred in Hess’ Nacho Libre.  Aquaman‘s Jason Momoa will co-star alongside Emma Myers (Wednesday), Jennifer Coolidge, Kate McKinnon, and Jemaine Clement. Danielle Brooks will also have a primary part as Dawn, with Sebastian Eugene Hansen as Henry.

When will Minecraft be released?

Warner Bros. will release Minecraft on April 4, 2025.