We’re getting a Minecraft movie! How do you feel about that? Don’t worry, your kids will be excited, we presume—the screen-addicted little angels have been waiting through years of shifting production start dates and changes in creative teams. In fact, we’re onto our fourth director here, with Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite, Nacho Libre) finally bringing the blocky video game to the screen. So, mark your calendars, as Minecraft is hitting cinemas on April 4, 2025.
But what’s it all about? We have no idea, and not just because we’re grown-ass adults—Warner Bros. has been running some pretty good operational security on this one. We understand it’s live action, as opposed to taking the more obvious animated approach, but some kind of live action/CGI hybrid seems likely.
There have been a number of story synopses floating around over the years, thanks to numerous attempts at the script not making the grade, but their current accuracy is questionable. IMDB has this: “The malevolent Ender Dragon sets out on a path of destruction, prompting a young girl and her group of unlikely adventurers to set out to save the Overworld.” With no official synopsis available, that will have to do us.
However, we do know some casting choices. Kid flick perennial Jack Black is playing Steve, Orange is the New Black star Danielle Brooks is Dawn, and large lad Jason Momoa is in an undisclosed but reportedly major role. And speaking of undisclosed roles, Emma Myers, Jennifer Coolidge, Kate McKinnon, and Jemaine Clement are all on board, although who they’re playing is a mystery. Recent reports that What We Do in the Shadows legend Matt Berry had joined the project seem to have come to naught, sadly.
It’s hard to know what to think about this one, really. That’s a decent cast, sure, but Jared Hess hasn’t made a good feature since Napoleon Dynamite, and the repeated changes to both the creative team and the release date (originally May 2019!) seem to indicate this is one of those adaptations that is going to have all the life micro-managed out of it. Still, let’s see what the trailer looks like when it eventually drops.
