Jack Black becoming too powerful, will star as Steve in Minecraft movie

Hollywood's favorite actor for video game roles, Jack Black, is set to portray Steve in the forthcoming film based on the wildly popular game, Minecraft. Deadline and Variety's reports have disclosed this exciting news. Black will join the ranks of Jason Momoa (Aquaman), Danielle Brooks (Peacemaker), and Emma Myers (Wednesday) in this highly-anticipated live-action rendition of Mojang's enormous sandbox game.

Notably, Black lent his voice to Bowser, and sang "Peaches" in the hit Super Mario Bros. movie, which grossed over a billion dollars last year. Continually demonstrating his gaming prowess, Black will be featured in the upcoming Borderlands adaptation (as Claptrap) and starred in two Jumanji films. His performances in Broken Age, Psychonauts 2, and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 and 2 bolster his gaming credentials.

While the plot of the Minecraft movie remains undisclosed, Deadline mentioned that the writing credits were still being finalized. Jared Hess (director of Napoleon Dynamite) is set to direct the movie, reuniting with Black, with whom he worked in Nacho Libre in 2006.

The Minecraft film adaptation has been in developmental stages for close to ten years. Initially, Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum) was set to direct, but later Rob McElhenney from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia took the helm aiming for a Minecraft-inspired adventure akin to the 1985 cult classic, The Goonies. Another attempt by Peter Sollett (The Path) depicted a tale about a teenage girl and her group of unlikely adventurers trying to prevent an Ender Dragon from wreaking havoc on their Overworld. Hess took over as director in 2022, alongside Momoa, though it's unclear if the storyline has altered since Sollett's effort.

Steve is the default avatar in Minecraft, while Alex stands as his female counterpart. Mojang subsequently introduced characters Ari, Efe, Kai, Makena, Noor, Sunny, and Zuri. Warner Bros. and Legendary have slated the Minecraft movie for release on April 4, 2025, with production expected to commence forthwith.