Block-building sandbox game Minecraft is many things to many people. For some, it’s a survival-of-the-fittest, us-versus-them experience where anything you build might just get destroyed in the night. Other folk enjoy listening to the unique musical score while exploring the worlds that players have painstakingly created.
To some, though, it’s the online equivalent of the world’s biggest LEGO set, where only the limits of your own imagination can hinder what you end up building. As such, it didn’t take long for hardened cinephiles and television aficionados to begin recreating iconic fictional lands as tributes to their most beloved stories.
From the finest craftsmen of this third faction, we compiled some of the best builds Minecraft has enabled since its launch in 2009.
Minas Tirith
Also known as the Tower Of The Setting Sun, this third and fourth age Gondor capital, home to The Return Of The King’s brutal Witch-king-felling battle, inspired one of the finest builds ever. It took over a year to complete.
Built by Epic Questsz | Downloadable from here.
The Mines Of Moria
It may no longer be the best place to enjoy the fabled hospitality of dwarves, but the beautiful caverns of Moria did motivate the building of this epic scale recreation. The project began over three years ago and is almost complete, save for some tiny details.
The Shire
While you’d be unlikely to find anyone west of Bree who would join your dangerous adventure upon first invitation, you could find this lovingly-made recreation of The Shire. Although you can’t download this map, you can help with the on-going Minecraft Middle-earth project (which is aiming to recreate the entirety of Tolkien’s vision) or simply hang out in Bag End with your pals via various servers.
Created by Minecraft Middle-earth | Accessible from here.
Osgiliath
To make Osgiliath in Minecraft once would be impressive. To make Osgiliath twice is just showing off. Perhaps the best before and after in the history of Minecraft, this particular recreation shows just what happened to the ancient capital of Gondor (hint: it's not good).
Created by Epic Questz | Accessible from here.
Star Destroyer
Although the odds of successfully surviving a direct assault on an Imperial Star Destroyer are very slim, it’s safe to get close to this 1:4 scale replica that has garnered over 8000 downloads on Minecraft. The giant thrusters at the back are particularly impressive.
Created by The Fro2| Schematic downloadable here.
Death Star
This time-lapse shows the unfathomable amount of work, detail, time and blocks (over four million) that goes into a build of this scale. However, the effort spent making this is insignificant next to the promise of Paradise Decay’s larger project - remaking the entirety of the original Star Wars in Minecraft form.
Created by Paradise Decay | Downloadable as a playable rollercoaster here.
A New Hope
If you’re wondering what a shot-for-shot remake of an iconic space opera would look like as a series of multi-coloured blocks, this attention-grabbing promotional video (based on the 1977 Star Wars trailer) gives you a pretty good idea. The full film is expected to land later this year.
Created by Paradise Decay | Finished film will be available here.
The Battle Of Hoth
Not content at stopping there - despite setbacks such as being denied use of the official audio in their final video by Lucasfilm - Paradise Decay have also been working on scenes from The Empire Strikes Back. The detail in the AT-ATs alone is a testament to the creativity and care involved in this Hoth recreation.
Created by Paradise Decay | Finished film will be available here.
King’s Landing
The lands of George R.R. Martin’s A Song Of Ice And Fire have already inspired the huge television phenomenon Game Of Thrones. Now, an ever-growing team of developers dubbed WesterosCraft are working to recreate them in full on Minecraft as well. This remodelling of King’s Landing boasts 3,000 unique buildings and took a team of more than a hundred developers four months to create.
Created by WesterosCraft | Downloadable from here.
The Night’s Watch
While Jon Snow may know nothing, the team at WesterosCraft know plenty about building and commitment to a cause. This timelapse showcases the work ethic and excruciating planning involved in making these projects happen. This Night’s Watch map includes The Wall itself, Castle Black, the torch sites and many more areas from the books/show.
Created by WesterosCraft | Accessible via custom server here.
Winterfell
Winterfell - the home of the continually unlucky Stark family and the Game Of Thrones fan mantra that ‘winter is coming’ - is another A Song Of Ice And Fire locale that’s received the WesterosCraft treatment. You need to join their custom server to explore it yourself, or there are also tours on YouTube (like this one{
Created by WesterosCraft | Accessible via custom server here.
Hogwarts
Admit it, you watched the Harry Potter movies wishing and waiting for your own Hogwarts' acceptance letter to defy the rules of fiction by dropping through your letterbox/chimney/window. Now, you can at least wander through the castle, explore its grounds and wander over the bridge (which Alfonso Cuarón invented, fact fans) thanks to this jaw-dropping build.
Created by MrKapersson | Downloadable from here (see description).
The TARDIS
“It’s bigger on the inside” is one of the immortal catchphrases of Doctor Who. It’s decades-old scriptwriting shorthand for a shocked reaction to the sheer impossibility of the TARDIS. Nothing’s impossible on Minecraft though, as this cunning user found by utilising Time Lord technology (or dark coding magic) to give this TARDIS the same effect.
Created by HiFolksImAdam | Not currently downloadable.
Shaun Of The Dead
There’s various ways of using Minecraft to show your appreciation for your favourite franchise. Movies In Minecraft is dedicated to recreating fight scenes using Minecraft-like environments, borrowed dialogue and additional animation. This is one of their forays into the Blood And Ice Cream trilogy.
Created by Movies In Minecraft | Not available for download.
Hot Fuzz
What're you thinking? Pub. Here’s another Edgar Wright homage from the Movies In Minecraft animation team. A particularly highlight is the attempt to recreate the bear-trap-to-the-head moment with square-headed cartoon characters.
Created by Movies In Minecraft | Not available for download.
The World’s End
Rounding off their video love letters to the all things Cornetto is Movies In Minecraft’s version of The Beehive fight scene from The World’s End. Take that, smashy-smashy-egg-men!
Created by Movies In Minecraft | Not available for download.
USS Enterprise
One of the first Minecraft creations to go viral way back in 2009, this stellar 9000-block rebuilding of Star Trek: The Next Generation’s USS Enterprise used a very early, far simpler version of the game than most the builds on this list. Minecraft creator Markus Persson (AKA 'Notch') even tweeted appreciation for it, giving it the ultimate captain’s seal of approval.
Created by Misa | Not available for download.
USS Voyager
Many have tried to echo Misa’s 2009 success with the Enterprise, so there is no shortage of impressive Star Trek ship builds on websites like PlanetMinecraft. Few go as far as this chap, though, who built the USS Voyager from some blueprints he found, right down to the furnishings in its rooms.
Created by Travis Cunero | Downloadable from here (see description).
And finally, one of the most-shared recreations to have ever graced Minecraft is the version of the Titanic that features in this following video. This tribute to the lives lost on the RMS Titanic’s maiden voyage is one of the most thoughtful uses of Minecraft, too. It’s technically modelled on real-life events rather than the film, but is worth sharing nonetheless.
Created by The Nexus Warrior | Downloadable from here.