Minecraft live-action film trailer unveiled with Jack Black, Jason Momoa

The first trailer for the Minecraft live-action film featuring Jack Black and Jason Momoa has been unveiled. Set to release early next year, the film is based on the immensely popular video game. Alongside Black and Momoa, the cast includes Danielle Brooks from Orange is the New Black, with Jared Hess directing.

This marks one of Jack Black’s initial projects post-Tenacious D, following the group’s split after Kyle Gass’s controversial joke about Donald Trump’s attempted assassination. Announced publicly since 2014, the movie has faced a prolonged journey to production.

The trailer, available now, shows that the film’s animation mimics the game’s distinctive style instead of blending reality with the game world. Fan reactions have been largely negative, with some calling the movie ‘atrocious’ and urging Warner Brothers to cancel its release.

Despite Warner Brothers shelving projects like Coyote vs Acme and Batgirl previously, this film’s $150 million budget makes such a move unlikely. One fan tweeted: “Turn this into a tax write-off instead of Coyote vs. Acme.” Another urged: “DO NOT RELEASE THIS.”

A third questioned the decision for a live-action adaptation, suggesting the responsible party should be fired. Criticism has particularly targeted Jack Black as Steve, with many doubting his portrayal. One fan commented: “I’m crying they deadass just said ‘Here, just wear this blue shirt.'”

Another remarked: “So Jack Black playing Jack Black,” while a third noted: “All I can picture is them walking around a green screen with studio lights; this really should have been completely animated.” However, not all feedback was negative. One viewer claimed: “Looks way, way better than I expected. I like that it doesn’t suffer from the curse of movies looking gray and orange all the time. It’s pretty colourful.”

Another simply stated: “I’LL BE THERE.” Jack Black, discussing his preparation, told GamesRadar: “Oh, you know I’m playing Minecraft all the time. Whenever I’m not filming, I’m playing Minecraft because an actor prepares.” “I like to be in that Minecraft headspace. I like to know the rules, and I like to get little things like, ‘Oh, in the game, you pickaxe like this. You hit stuff like that,’ then I do that in the movie.”

“I think the members of the Academy will appreciate my research later. I don’t want to jinx it, but I’m pretty sure I’m getting an Oscar for this one,” Black joked. Although he may have been kidding, his chances of a Razzie in 2025 might have just increased.