Colorful sheep, shallow laughter and Jason Momoa in a pink leather jacket: Warner Bros. has released the first trailer for its “Minecraft” movie, scheduled to be released in theaters on April 4, 2025. There are also piglins, ghosts and blocky landscapes while the Beatles sing “Magical Mystery Tour” in the background.
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Warner translated the video game template’s iconic blocky graphic style into film format using a lot of CGI. The characters and environments show blocky perspectives, but look a bit more realistic than in the video game. The film is directed by Jared Hess. In addition to Jason Momoa and Danielle Brooks, the cast also includes Jack Black, who plays “Minecraft’s” title character Steve.
Initial reactions from fans were devastating: both in youtube comments There’s a mix of disappointment and resigned indifference below the trailer and in the community subreddit. “Hollywood corporate garbage that we all know will get bad reviews but still make billions at the box office,” writes a user on Reddit,
In YouTube comments and social media you can often find references to “Minecraft Story Mode”, an adventure series developed by Telltale. It previously had the reputation of being the worst format in the “Minecraft” universe – many fans now believe that the “Minecraft” movie could replace the story mode in this regard.
Another “Borderlands” flop?
Unflattering comparisons are also being made to the recently released “Borderlands” film, which failed with critics and fans as well as at the box office. None of this means that “A Minecraft Movie”, as Warner officially calls the film, will be a similar flop. But it can be said that fans’ first impressions were messed up.
More and more video game formats are being produced as films or series to give brands better recognition. Examples such as Amazon’s “Fallout” series or “The Last of Us” on HBO have shown that high-quality implementations can not only be successful, but also increase the popularity of video games.
Microsoft is trying twice with “Minecraft”: In addition to the movie, a Netflix series about the best-selling video game of all time is in production.
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