The world and its inhabitants are almost entirely CGI, making everything look a little cursed, but we haven't seen enough to pass judgement yet.
It was only a matter of time before Minecraft attempted to make the jump to the big screen, especially after the recent success of movie adaptations for Mario and Sonic. We've known it was in the works for a while, with the last update confirming legendary actor Jack Black starring as Minecraft's infamous Steve, and now we finally have our very first look at what this movie will actually be.
And... It's a little cursed, for sure, but maybe that's perfect.
Produced by Warner Bros. Pictures and directed by Jared Hess, most known for his previous movies like Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre, 'A Minecraft Movie' appears to follow a group of wayward humans lost in the mystical and very obviously computer-generated world of Minecraft. Alongside Jack Black as Steve, we get our first look at Jason Mamoa looking beautifully quirky and the rest of the human cast, including Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks, and Sebastian Eugene Hansen.
It's hard to pay attention to them when you have a horrifying pink sheep screaming in your face, though.
There's still a lot of information we're missing about the Minecraft movie adaptation, including what exactly its plot and tone will be, but this first trailer gives us exponentially more than we had before. 'A Minecraft Movie' appears to be another example of "Oh no, we're trapped in this unfamiliar world and we need to struggle to return home," with our human cast being awe struck by the colorful, gently cursed Minecraft world.
We see a pink sheep, a wolf, a creeper, a llama, and lots of piglins, and they're all a terrifying mesh of fur, flesh, and cubes. It's basically what I expected from a live action movie, and it honestly may help the movie find its niche among the weird. I know my daughter, at the very least, is going to drag me out to see it, and I have to admit I'm curious myself just how they're going to try and make this work. The Minecraft movie has been in the works for years at this point, so there has to be something here, right?
Either way, we don't have to wait any longer than we already knew we would. The preexisting release date of Apr. 4, 2025 still stands with the first trailer, so we'll all be able to witness Jack Black more or less just be his awesome self while surrounded by weirdly square creatures in a little over six months. If you'd like to learn everything else we know about the movie, you can check out our in-depth 'A Minecraft Movie' FAQ.
Oh, and in case you missed it, Minecraft is getting a second media adaptation. In addition to seeing 'A Minecraft Movie' in theaters and IMAX next year, the studio behind shows like Sonic Prime and Carmen Sandiego is also partnering with Mojang Studios and Netflix to create a Minecraft animated series. Minecraft was already in video games, music, books, toys, LEGO, and more -- soon, it'll be a live-action movie and an original cartoon.
I still think that llama at the end of the trailer may be in my nightmares tonight.
