While the popular world-building game is about to be an animated feature, Netflix will also be exploring the universe with their own show.
It’s recently been reported that the freeform game of Minecraft will be adapted into a feature film. The movie is set to be an animated adaptation with an impressive voice cast that features Jack Black, Jason Momoa, Danielle Brooks, Jennifer Coolidge, Kate McKinnon, Jermaine Clement, and Emma Myers signed on. The movie is directed by Napoleon Dynamite’s Jared Hess. Hess wasn’t the first director to have been tied to a Minecraft movie, as previous iterations found Shawn Levy, Rob McElhenney and Peter Sollett attached. At one point, Steve Carell was linked to a voice role.
Now, The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Netflix is now in development for an animated TV series based on the popular world-building game. The new adaptation will come from the studio that’s responsible for Netflix’s Sonic Prime, Ninjago: Dragons Rising and Carmen Sandiego — WildBrain Studios. The details of the creative team behind the proposed show, including its showrunner, have not yet been determined at this time. It is not even known if the show will connect to the future feature film in some way.
While he prepared for voice acting in the film, Jack Black recently explained to IGN, “An actor prepares so I have literally been exclusive to Minecraft for the last month and a half. All Minecraft all the time…Just Steve-in’ it up in the Minecraft universe, getting back into it – because I did play years ago because my kids were super duper into it and I wanted to speak their language. So I studied hard and I learned and I was getting really into it, building houses and tunneling around…Now I’m getting back into it and it’s pretty rad.”
Mojang’s Minecraft is considered the best-selling video game ever and currently has more than 160 million active users. One of the major draws for the game is its endless opportunities for creativity, with its most dedicated players designing pixel-driven renditions of everything from actual cities to fictional lands like Middle Earth.
The Minecraft movie will build in theaters on April 4th.
