With the Minecraft movie heading to theaters, here is everything we know about the latest video game to blockbuster adaptation.
After becoming one of the biggest games of all time, selling over 238 million copies as of April 2021 (via Statista), it felt like it was only a matter of time before Hollywood turned its gaze to the pixilated brick-based world.
The project has been in the pipeline as far back as 2012, with the earliest announcement of the title coming from Warner Bros. and developer Mojang in early 2014, saying that the film was in "early development."
Since then, the movie has been through several directors, eventually settling on Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre filmmaker Jared Hess to helm the project.
When Will the Minecraft Movie Release?
After more than a decade of development, and several writers and directors, in April 2023, the Minecraft movie was officially given a release date.
The movie was confirmed by Deadline to be coming to theaters worldwide on April 4, 2025.
This comes after the movie was initially slated for release in 2022, as revealed by a post from the Minecraft staff:
"Because today, we’re beyond excited to reveal the premiere date for the upcoming 'Minecraft' movie! That date is March 4, 2022. Does it sound distant? We beg to differ! It’s only 1053 days. Or about 34 months, or 150 weeks, or a million and a half minutes. Not that we’re counting, of course. Besides, it turns out that making a live-action, full-length feature film is really complicated!"
However, those plans were ultimately abandoned due to the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic.
While Minecraft's 2025 date feels pretty solid, there is always the possibility it could be moved.
Following the resolution of the Hollywood writers' strike, Minecraft was given a filming update, making that 2025 release feel more and more likely.
Per Variety, the film can now get started shooting as soon as spring 2024, as long as the SAG-AFTRA strike can come to a resolution before the end of 2023. In that same report, it was noted the Minecraft movie script was completed, meaning development is nearly complete and the movie is production-ready.
Who Is Cast in the Minecraft Movie?
Currently, only two names are officially connected to the Minecraft film adaptation - Aquaman and Game of Thrones star Jason Momoa and What We Do in the Shadows actor Matt Berry.
Previously The Office funnyman Steve Carrell had been rumored to be attached to the movie; however, due to the film's reworking in recent years, that no longer appears to be the case.
Here is every confirmed actor and who they are playing in the Minecraft movie:
Jason Momoa
There is not much information about who Jason Momoa will be playing in Minecraft. Announced in April 2022, Momoa has been confirmed to be the star of the film, so potentially he could be playing Steve, the male protagonist from the Minecraft video game.
Matt Berry
Matt Barry was officially announced to have joined Minecraft in May 2023 in an undisclosed role. There are currently no specifics on who the English comedian will be playing in the film.
What Will Happen in the Minecraft Movie?
Plot details for the Minecraft movie remain scarce for the time being.
At one point, fans had a pretty good idea of what the movie was going to be about. In the blog post announcing the movie's original 2022 release date, a story of a teenage girl and her unlikely group of adventurers" taking "the malevolent Ender Dragon" was mentioned:
"So, what do you have to look forward to, roughly 25,000 hours from now? Well, as you devour your movie snack of choice (we like a suspicious stew with a side of square watermelon), we’ll tell you the story of a teenage girl and her unlikely group of adventurers. After the malevolent Ender Dragon sets out on a path of destruction, they must save their beautiful, blocky."
But due to turnover behind the scenes, this plot summary is likely out of date.
Given Minecraft's open-ended survival gameplay, with no real story within the game itself, the film adaptation remains an open canvas for director Jared Hess and his team.
Minecraft Movie Trailer: When Will It Come Out?
No trailer has yet been released for the Minecraft movie.
Filming for the project was set to get underway in early August 2023 in New Zealand (according to Eurogamer), but was pushed back due to writers' and actors' strikes in Hollywood.
Given there is no footage to make a trailer from, it likely will be quite some time before fans get a first glance at the film.
However, with filming set to get started in Q2 2024, audiences should expect a tease sometime in mid-2024.
The movie could possibly time its trailer debut with one of the major gaming events throughout the year. Timing-wise Geoff Keighley's Summer Games Fest showcase in early June could be the perfect place to pull the curtain back on a first look, putting a likely trailer release date sometime in the second weekend of June 2024; however, given the suspected spring 2024 shooting start, that could be a little early.
Minecraft is set to come to theaters on March 4, 2025.
