Video games and movies, for whatever reason, don’t really blend well together. Most of them suck, while others stay as rumors and never come out (looking at you, Halo). Well, to add to that list, there is now a live-action Minecraft movie revealed by Mojang with a March 4, 2022 release date. While that’s really far away, a release date is better than a release window, no?
The plot revolves around a teenage girl and her group of friends that live in the Minecraft Overworld. The Ender Dragon is here, ready to destroy said world, and the friends must protect it. Cue a long journey through the many biomes, probably the Nether, and of course, the End. I imagine there will be nods to the many Minecraft memes, Herobrine, and Minecraft streamers, but not Notch.
Peter Sollett, of Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist fame, will direct because Minecraft needs a bit of that heartfelt, rom-com touch. Warner Bros will back it, Jon Berg will produce, and Jim Berney will head the visual effects. As far as first reveals go, this is encouraging. Especially considering this movie has had a whole slew of different creatives attached to it over the years.
Also, this actually sounds like it could be decent? There’s the typical hero’s journey plot, of course, but hey, wouldn’t it be fun to watch friends roam through the world of Minecraft on the big screen? That’s a direct translation of gameplay to screen. That and the director, though he doesn’t have a track record of game-to-screen adaptations, knows how to create relatable characters. Plus, Jordan Peele, a fantastic comedian, went on to make two horror classics so maybe Sollett can pull off a genre switch as well.
The blog post ends with a positive message from the Mojang team:
“Since we’re a game developer first, making a movie will be new and very exciting. And while the movie has to be different from the game (otherwise, you’d be in for an infinite movie in very low resolution) one thing will definitely be the same. We want to make the movie — just as we make the game — for you. We’re inspired by countless things, but none as much as the incredible stuff our community creates in Minecraft every day. So keep it coming!”
There’s plenty of reasons to be optimistic about this movie. Of course, that optimism could change when we see some footage. From a visual standpoint, this film could either go the Detective Pikachu route or the Sonic movie route. I’m hoping it’s the former.
