Comedian and actor Jack Black has joined the cast of the Warner Bros. live-action adaptation of the hit video game “Minecraft,” set to be released in spring 2025, according to an insider with knowledge of the project.
Black joins a cast that includes “Aquaman” headliner Jason Momoa, Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks and Sebastian Eugene Hansen.
Jared Hess (“Napoleon Dynamite”) will direct the film, while “Dune” producer Mary Parent will produce along with Roy Lee and Jill Messick receiving a posthumous producing credit. Also producing the film are the “Minecraft” developers Mojang Studios, including Lydia Winters and Vu Bui serving as producers.
Details on the film’s plot are being kept under wraps. Black will be playing a character named Steve in the film. Developed by Swedish game designer Markus “Notch” Persson and released in 2011, “Minecraft” is an open-ended sandbox game in which players can mine resources and craft items, using them to create new structures and fight off hostile creatures.
More than a decade later, “Minecraft” remains one of the most popular and lucrative video games on the market, with fans creating community servers and conventions to share their creations. Microsoft purchased the game and its dev company Mojang for $2.5 billion and has turned it into a multimedia franchise with spinoff games and merchandise.
Black has a busy year ahead as he also stars in the upcoming Lionsgate film adaptation of the popular video game “Borderlands,” set for release on Aug. 9. Black is currently on a European tour with his Grammy-winning band Tenacious D for their “Spicy Meatball Tour.” He is best known for starring in Sony’s highly successful “Jumanji” franchise, which has grossed over $1.7 billion worldwide, as well as Peter Jackson’s 2005 remake of “King Kong,” which brought in $556 million globally. Black won a Grammy in 2015 along with musical partner Kyle Gass for Tenacious D’s cover of “The Last in Line.”
Black is repped by Ocean Ave. and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern.
Deadline first reported the news.