Having been one of the unalloyed highlights (all together now, "Peaches, Peaches, Peaches..." of last year's The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which leapt over seriously mixed reviews to make more than $1.3 billion worldwide, it appears Jack Black is ready to jump back into the world of video game-based films. In this case, Deadline has heard he's joining Jason Momoa in the cast of the Minecraft movie.
Alongside Momoa and now apparently Black, Minecraft's cast includes Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks, Matt Berry and Sebastian Eugene Hansen.
Plot details have yet to emerge, but the game, for those who might not be aware, originated from Swedish developer Mojang AB, and allows you to create and shape an entire world. By 2014, it had sold more than 35 million copies across PCs, the Xbox 360 and mobile platforms. Much like with Lego, the only stories are those created by users, who can choose whether to explore, create or fight with each other. There are also nocturnal monsters stalking the place, which you must deal with. Microsoft bought the company for a couple of billion in 2014.
This is one that has been in development for years, with names such as Peter Sollett, Shawn Levy, Rob McElhenney and Steve Carell all attached at one time. Jared Hess is in the director's chair, with shooting now finally scheduled to start this month in New Zealand and an April 2025 release on the books.
And it's far from Black's only video game-associated projects – he's voicing robot Claptrap in the live-action Borderlands film, which will finally be out this August.