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A Minecraft Movie

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"Minecraft (film)" redirects here. For the 2012 documentary film, see Minecraft: The Story of Mojang.

A Minecraft Movie
A cubic bee flies over a blocky sky background. The logo sits in the middle with the release info at the bottom.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJared Hess
Written by
Based onMinecraft
by Mojang Studios
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyEnrique Chediak
Edited byJames Thomas
Music byMark Mothersbaugh
Production
companies
Distributed by
  • Warner Bros. Pictures (Worldwide)
  • Legendary East (China)
Release date
  • April 4, 2025 (2025-04-04)
CountriesUnited States
Sweden
LanguageEnglish

A Minecraft Movie is an upcoming adventure comedy film directed by Jared Hess and written by Chris Bowman and Hubbel Palmer, based on the 2011 video game Minecraft developed by Mojang Studios. The film stars Jack Black, Jason Momoa, Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks, Sebastian Eugene Hansen, and Jennifer Coolidge.

Plans for a Minecraft film[2] adaptation were announced in February 2014 when creator Markus Persson revealed that Mojang was in talks with Warner Bros. Pictures to develop the project, with Roy Lee and Jill Messick producing. During development, filmmakers Shawn Levy, Rob McElhenney, and Peter Sollett, were initially hired to direct, while writers Kieran and Michele Mulroney, Jason Fuchs, Aaron and Adam Nee, and Allison Schroeder, were attached. In April 2022, Legendary Entertainment became involved, with Hess hired as the new director and Momoa in talks to star. Further casting took place from May 2023 to January 2024. Principal photography began later that month in New Zealand and concluded in mid-April 2024. An official teaser, which revealed the look of the film and its title, was released on September 4, 2024. The official trailer for the film was released by Warner Bros. on November 19, 2024.

A Minecraft Movie is scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States on April 4, 2025.

Premise

Four misfits—Garrett "The Garbage Man" Garrison (Jason Momoa), Henry (Sebastian Hansen), Natalie (Emma Myers) and Dawn (Danielle Brooks)—find themselves struggling with ordinary problems when they are suddenly pulled through a mysterious portal into the Overworld: a bizarre, cubic wonderland that thrives on imagination. To get back home, they'll have to master this world (and protect it from evil things like piglins and zombies, too) while embarking on a magical quest with an unexpected, expert crafter, Steve (Jack Black). Together, their adventure will challenge all five to be bold and to reconnect with the qualities that make each of them uniquely creative...the very skills they need to thrive back in the real world.

— Warner Bros. Pictures[3]

Cast

Additionally, Jennifer Coolidge (who previously worked with Hess on Gentlemen Broncos), Matt Berry, Kate McKinnon, and Jemaine Clement (who previously worked with Hess on Gentlemen Broncos, Don Verdean and Thelma the Unicorn) have been cast in undisclosed roles.[9][10][11] YouTuber Valkyrae is set to make a cameo appearance in the film.[12]

Production

Development

In 2012, Mojang Studios received offers from Hollywood producers who wanted to produce Minecraft-related television series. However, Mojang stated they would only engage in such projects when "the right idea comes along".[13] Two years later, in February 2014, an attempt to crowdfund a fan film through Kickstarter was shut down after Markus "Notch" Persson declined to let the filmmakers use the license, the given reason being that the Kickstarter was set up before any agreement with Mojang had been made.[14][15] That same month, Persson revealed that Mojang was in talks with Warner Bros. Pictures to develop an official Minecraft film to be produced by Roy Lee and Jill Messick.[16][17] In October 2014, Mojang CCO Vu Bui stated that the movie was "in its early days of development", saying that it was a "large-budget" production, and also said that it might not be released until 2018.[18][19] That same month, Warner Bros. hired Shawn Levy to direct the film,[20] while in December, it was confirmed that Levy and writers Kieran and Michele Mulroney, who were developing the film together, had left the project.[21]

In July 2015, it was announced that Warner Bros. had hired Rob McElhenney to direct the film. According to McElhenney, he had been drawn to the film based on the open-world nature of the game, an idea Warner Bros. had initially agreed with and for which they had provided him with a preliminary US$150 million budget.[22][23] In 2016, early production started on the film, including in June assigning a release date of May 24, 2019,[24] in October setting Jason Fuchs to write the script,[25] and in November contracting Steve Carell to star as the voice of an unknown character.[26] McElhenney's Minecraft film "slowly died on the vine", and due to scheduling conflicts, he left the film in August 2018.[27] Aaron and Adam Nee were tapped to rewrite the script and the film was delayed as a result. No new director was announced at that time.[28]

In January 2019, Peter Sollett was announced to write and direct the film, featuring an entirely different story from McElhenney's version. Messick, who died in 2018, will be posthumously credited as producer.[29] In April 2019, Warner Bros. scheduled the new film to be released in theaters on March 4, 2022.[30][31] In June 2019, Allison Schroeder was hired to write the script and co-write the story with Sollett.[32] In October 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic prompted Warner Bros. to adjust its release schedule, including removing the Minecraft film from its planned release date.[33]

In April 2022, production on the Minecraft film was announced to be moving forward without Sollett and Schroeder, now with Jared Hess set to direct, Legendary Entertainment to co-produce (through its executive Mary Parent) and Jason Momoa in early talks to star. The film was also confirmed to be live action.[34] It was also reported that Chris Bowman and Hubbel Palmer, who collaborated with Hess on Masterminds (2016), would rewrite the script.[35][36] In early April 2023, it was reported that the film would release on April 4, 2025.[37][38] After developing a separate project with Legendary that never materialized, Hess was invited by the studio to pitch a take for the film.[39] He enjoyed the task of "trying to adapt something that doesn't have a story — it's an open sandbox game", hoping to find an opportunity for a "fun, ridiculous movie."[39]

Casting

In May 2023, Matt Berry entered negotiations to join the cast.[9] Later, in November, Danielle Brooks and Sebastian Eugene Hansen joined the cast.[7] In December, Emma Myers also joined the cast.[6] In January 2024, Jack Black joined the cast, teasing his casting in the film via his official Instagram account.[40][4] Jennifer Coolidge, Kate McKinnon, and Jemaine Clement were also cast in undisclosed roles.[10][11]

Filming

On June 19, 2023, it was reported that principal photography on the film would start on August 7 in New Zealand,[41] before filming was delayed in July by the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.[42] Following the conclusion of the strike in early November 2023, filming was reported to be aiming for an early 2024 start.[43] With the announcement of Brooks and Hansen as part of the cast, filming was scheduled to begin in late December 2023.[7] Filming had begun by mid-January 2024 in Auckland and ended in mid-April, with Grant Major serving as the production designer,[44] and Enrique Chediak serving as the cinematographer.[45] In September 2024, YouTuber Valkyrae, who is set to appear in the movie, accused Jason Momoa of mistreating members of the production crew after filming a "very emotional scene".[46]

Post-production

Visual effects for the film are provided by Sony Pictures Imageworks, with Dan Lemmon serving as visual effects supervisor.[47] James Thomas serves as the film's editor.[48]

Music

Mark Mothersbaugh will compose the score, while Gabe Hilfer and Karyn Rachtman serve as music supervisors.[45]

Marketing

On September 4, 2024, the film's first teaser trailer, set to The Beatles' "Magical Mystery Tour", was released. Audience reactions to the teaser were noted as "divisive"[49][50] or "generally negative", with criticism for the CGI, character designs, and live-action nature of the film.[51][52][53] Andrew Webster of The Verge said that besides its "unsettling imagery", it "looks like some silly family fun".[54] Tom Power of TechRadar could not decide whether it was "drop-dead gorgeous or the stuff of nightmares".[55] Conversely, Markus Persson, the original creator of Minecraft, praised the trailer on Twitter, saying "Ok i'm in[.] Wow this is a weird feeling."[56] Various clips and images from the trailer, such as a bleating pink sheep, a white llama, and Jack Black as Steve saying "I... am Steve", were notably ridiculed and became Internet memes.[50] A second trailer was released on November 19, to a more positive response from viewers.[57][58]

Release

A Minecraft Movie is set to be released theatrically in IMAX in the United States by Warner Bros. Pictures on April 4, 2025.[b] Initially it was scheduled to be released on May 24, 2019,[24] but on April 26, 2019, Warner Bros. delayed the film to March 4, 2022.[30][31] On October 6, 2020, Warner Bros. removed the film from the release schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic and to avoid direct competition with The Batman (2022).[33] On April 5, 2023, after being undated for over two years, the film was given its current release date.[38][60]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Messick died in February 2018; she will receive a posthumous credit in the film. It will be dedicated to her memory.
  2. ^ Attributed to multiple sources:[37][38][28][59]

References

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  2. ^ Yang, Lin (October 24, 2024). "Critics should stop giving leeway to bad video game movies". The Michigan Daily. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
  3. ^ WarnerBros.com | A Minecraft Movie
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  7. ^ a b c d D'Alessandro, Anthony (November 30, 2023). "'Minecraft': Warner Bros. Movie Adds Danielle Brooks & Sebastian Eugene Hansen". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 1, 2023. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
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