Fans are confused, as recent soundtrack listings have given some the impression The Minecraft Movie might be a musical.
After years of waiting, audiences will finally be able to jump into the block-based world of Minecraft on the big screen thanks to the new movie by Napoleon Dynamite filmmaker Jared Hess.
The Minecraft Movie has been getting surprisingly good early reviews as fans get their first taste of its off-kilter brand of humor, hilarious performances (including from the musically inclined Jack Black), and colorful video game world.
Will The Minecraft Movie Be a Musical?
With the release of the official Minecraft Movie soundtrack, some are worried the new big-screen comedy might secretly be a musical.
Warner Bros. recently debuted the full soundtrack listing for the upcoming video game movie as it approaches its Friday, April 4 release date.
Usually, with these sorts of big-budget movies, fans can expect official soundtracks to feature elements of the score, perhaps a licensed song or two, and any original songs that were written for the film (usually done by a third-party musician to run over the credits or in a significant moment from the movie's story).
Fans eager for A Minecraft Movie were shocked to see that the soundtrack for the long-awaited video game adaptation features not only the kinds of songs one would expect from a soundtrack such as this but also several original tracks sung by the movie's stars.
These include "I Feel Alive," "Steve's Lava Chicken," and "Ode to Denis," all sung by Jack Black, and a duet titled "Birthday Rap" by Black and his co-star Jason Momoa, confirming that the movie will have musical elements within.
Including songs like this on the soundtrack (and, in turn, the movie) has some more musically averse audiences concerned Minecraft may secretly be a musical, and Warner Bros. has just been hiding that fact through the film's lengthy marketing campaign.
Hollywood has been no stranger to pulling a stunt like this over the last couple of years, with several movie musicals hitting theaters without any mention they are actually musicals in any of their pre-release marketing materials (just look at what happened to last year's Mean Girls movie).
That does not seem to be the case for A Minecraft Movie. Instead, these songs seem to simply be musical interludes sung by actor and rock-and-role enthusiast Jack Black and the rest of the cast.
One cannot forget that Black is the lead singer of the rock band Tenacious D and has been known to bust out a tune on set throughout his over 25-year career working in Hollywood.
Prior to this, he most recently showed off his 70s rock god-esque pipes in 2023's Super Mario Bros. Movie with the ultra-viral power ballad "Peaches" (a song for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe).
Black's Minecraft co-star Danielle Brooks previously hinted at these spurts of musical merriment popping up in the film, telling Variety in February 2024 that she was "hopefully going to be singing in [the movie]:"
Q: "Are you going to be singing the 'Minecraft' theme song?"
A: "No, but I’m hopefully going to be singing in it. You can’t do a movie with Danielle Brooks and Jack Black and not have us do something. I’m having a good time."
Those looking for a tease of these original songs in The Minecraft Movie can find the full soundtrack now streaming musical streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music.
