Minecraft is one of the most successful and influential games of the early 21st century, winning many awards and selling over 300 million copies since its release in 2011. So it was only a matter of time before Hollywood gave us a feature film based on the 3D sandbox game, simply titled A Minecraft MovieSure, you might have reservations about yet another video game-based movie, but on the plus side, we have Jason Momoa and Jack Black in the lead roles. And the first teaser is packed with eye-popping candy-colored cube visuals and sly references to the game that will please fans.

Within a year Minecraft‘s initial release, Mojang Studios received offers from Hollywood producers to make a TV series based on the game, but the company wanted to wait for “the right idea.” There was an attempt in 2014 to crowdsource a fan film, but game creator Markus “Notch” Persson did not agree to license that attempt because he was already in negotiations with Warner Bros. about developing a film based on the game. Thus began a long, complicated process of directors and writers being hired and leaving the project for various reasons.

When the dust finally settled, Jared Hess (who had collaborated with Black on Nacho Free) ultimately directed. The COVID pandemic and the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike delayed things further, but filming eventually wrapped earlier this year in Auckland, New Zealand, just in time for a spring 2025 theatrical release. According to the official synopsis:

Welcome to the world of Minecraft, where creativity isn’t just about crafting—it’s about survival! Four misfits—Garrett “The Garbage Man” Garrison (Jason Momoa), Henry (Sebastian Eugene Hansen), Natalie (Emma Myers), and Dawn (Danielle Brooks)—are struggling with everyday problems when they’re suddenly pulled through a mysterious portal into the Overworld, a bizarre, cubic wonderland that thrives on imagination. To get home, they’ll have to master this world (and protect it from evil things like Piglins and Zombies) while embarking on a magical quest with an unlikely expert tinkerer, Steve (Jack Black). Together, their adventure will challenge all five to be bold and reconnect with the qualities that make them uniquely creative… the skills they’ll need to thrive in the real world once again.

Players will recognize Steve as one of the standard characters in Minecraft. Set to The Beatles’ “Magical Mystery Tour,” the teaser opens with our misfits encountering a fantastical Tolkien-esque landscape, only with much more cube-like shapes, including a pink sheep with a cube-shaped head. We get the aforementioned Piglins and other creatures before Black shows up and dramatically announces with much fanfare, “I… am Steve.” Honestly, we’ll probably watch it for Black’s appearance alone.

A Minecraft Movie will be released in theaters in April 2025.

Image from YouTube/Warner Bros.