Minecraft Movie

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About

The Minecraft Movie, also known as A Minecraft Movie, refers to a movie based on the video game Minecraft, originally hinted at in early 2014 but was postponed until April 2025. The movie was set to be produced by Warner Bros. Studios, however, when the original release date in 2022 came around, there was no movie released, resulting in memes across social media from users reacting to the missed release. In 2022 and 2023, a new release date for the film was announced: April 4th, 2025. The movie was to be live-action, directed by Jared Hess (known for directing Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre) and starring actor Jason Mamoa (known for Aquaman) and Jack Black as Steve. In September 2024, the movie's first teaser trailer was released, resulting in memes and reactions, many of which panned the film's CGI and dialogue. Much of the viral criticism focused on the pink sheep seen in the teaser trailer.

Background

On February 27th, 2014, the creator of Minecraft, Notch, posted a tweet^[1] that hinted at the development of a new Minecraft movie produced by Warner Bros. The tweet received roughly 5,000 likes over the course of eight years (shown below). It was reported by Time^[2] magazine that the film was piggybacking off of the success of The Lego Movie.

Developments

On October 8, 2014, The Guardian^[3] reported that the movie was set to release in 2018. Vu Bui, the Chief Content Officer at Mojang Studios, stated in the article "it's in its early days of development," adding it's, "large-budget production." On July 21st, 2015, Vu Bui said in a statement^[4] that the film was going to be directed by It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia actor Rob McElhenney, known for playing Mac on the show. On June 27, 2016, Mojang Studios announced^[5] the title and release date for the movie, giving the date May 24, 2019. On August 3rd, 2018, it was reported by The Wrap^[6] that Rob McElhenney had dropped out of the movie.

March 4th, 2022, Release Date

On April 16th, 2019, the Twitter^[7] account of Minecraft tweeted a new release date: March 4th, 2022. The tweet (shown below, left) earned roughly 58,600 likes over the course of three years. Twitter^[8] user ShapedInternet added in a reply to the tweet that Steve Carrell was cast as Steve in the movie, tweeting a screenshot that earned roughly 2,400 likes in the same amount of time (shown below, right).

Although people were excited at first, the Minecraft movie didn't get much press going into the rest of 2019 and into 2020, mostly due to many movie productions halting their operations regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.

On March 4th, 2022, however, the April 2019 tweet from Minecraft resurfaced on Twitter, where users started posting memes about the movie not releasing when it was promised. For instance, on March 3rd, Twitter^[9] user LSMark_ quote retweeted the tweet from Minecraft, ironically captioning it, "Who’s coming with me to see the Minecraft Movie tomorrow? I can’t wait to see those epic creepers on the big screen!" and earning roughly 17,800 likes in one day (shown below, left).

Twitter^[10] user FearfulHarmony_ tweeted on March 4th, captioning an image of a strong man driving the wrong way down a highway with, "Update: they didn't have the minecraft movie in the theater today, my day is fucking ruined," earning roughly 3,700 likes in one day (shown below, right).

April 4th, 2025, Release Date

On April 18th, 2022, Variety^[11] reported that the movie was said to be directed by Jared Hess (known for directing Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre).^[11] About a year later, on April 5th, 2023, news outlets like The Hollywood Reporter^[12] reported that the Minecraft movie had a new release date set for April 4th, 2025.

The news quickly spread on social media, such as in a tweet posted by the Twitter^[13] account @DiscussingFilm on April 5th, which gained roughly 127,900 likes in one day (shown below, left). Various memes were posted in relation to the news, such as a tweet sent by Twitter^[14] user @NicholasPascar5 on April 5th that questioned how it was going to be live-action, gaining roughly 96,800 likes in one day (shown below, right).

Cast

The April 18th, 2022 Variety article also reported that Jason Mamoa (from Aquaman) was to star in the upcoming Minecraft movie, alongside Emma Meyers from Wednesday and Danielle Brooks from The Color Purple. Nearly two years later, on January 2nd, 2024, Variety^[15] released another article announcing that Jack Black has been cast in the film as well. Though the Variety article didn't specify his role, it was confirmed the same day by various news outlets that he would be playing Steve. This was announced in a tweet by @DiscussingFilm on X (formerly Twitter),^[16] earning over 137,000 likes and 16,000 reposts in just over twelve hours (seen below).

Jack Black's casting generated a lot of interest online, particularly on X. Fans celebrated his casting, and many compared this to his previous roles in video game film adaptations, particularly his recent role as Bowser in the Super Mario Bros Movie. On January 2nd, 2024, X^[17] user @pinreelinc celebrated the news by posting artwork showing Jack Black as a Minecraft character, earning approximately three hundred likes in only twelve hours (below, left). The same day, X^[18] user @uorplefever reposted the news with the caption "Jack Black collecting every role in a video game adaptation film like infinity stones," and earned 1,300 likes in approximately twelve hours (below, right).

First Teaser Trailer

On September 4th, 2024, the first teaser trailer for the film was released online.

It was widely reviled online, as many viewers did not like the quality of the CGI or the quality of the dialogue presented in the trailer.

For instance, on September 4th, X^[19] user @paigedustzone tweeted a YouTube thumbnail of a realistic Minecraft screen, captioned, "im crying dude they managed to make it look exactly like this," gaining over 90,000 likes in five hours (shown below).

Similarly, on September 4th, X^[20] user @RavioliCraft tweeted an image of a Minecraft cow with a realistic skin, writing, "The new minecraft movie looks like this im sorry," gaining over 29,000 likes in less than a day (shown below).

Others joked about Jack Black's role in the film, such as X^[21] user @VoicesByZane on September 4th, who posted a screencap of Black, captioned, "If you pause it at the right moment you can see the exact frame where Jack Black realizes that this is his life now," amassing over 13,000 likes in less than a day (shown below).

Ugly Sonic Comparisons

On January 16th, 2024, IGN^[23] published a quote from Minecraft Movie director Jared Hess saying that he wanted to avoid an Ugly Sonic situation (shown below).

Following the teaser trailer's release, many online compared the movie's animation style to Ugly Sonic. For instance, on September 4th, 2024, X^[22] user @RealYouTubeKids posted a Reject Modernity, Embrace Tradition meme that received over 740 likes in two hours (shown below).

Minecraft Movie Sheep

The Minecraft Movie Sheep refers to the pink sheep seen in the teaser trailer for A Minecraft Movie. The sheep, which baas at the characters and viewers, became a central focus of criticism concerning the film's realistic animation style. Many compared the sheep to Ugly Sonic. Others attempted to make memes with the screencap of the sheep baaing by adding top captions to it. However, the memes were largely ridiculed for being cringe and for normies because they were low effort with easily reachable punchlines. In turn, ironic memes mocking the earnest memes spread on Twitter / X and elsewhere.

For instance, on September 4th, 2024, X^[24] user @BigMoney34YT quoted a reply, writing, "heartwarming: alien from planet kepler-452b trys to make a relatable meme 🥹❤️❤️," gaining over 97,000 likes in a day (shown below).

I Am Steve

I Am Steve refers to a scene from A Minecraft Movie where the camera zooms in on Jack Black's face and he announces, "I am Steve," revealing himself to be the protagonist of Minecraft. The scene appeared in the film's teaser trailer, released in early September 2024. It became the subject of reactions and memes online, including photoshops, edits and memes, with some finding it to be corny and cringeworthy.