After years of development, the time is nearly upon us. “A Minecraft Movie,” based on the wildly popular video game, hits theaters in April. Today, Warner Bros. has released a final trailer for the film, which hails from director Jared Hess (“Napoleon Dynamite”). While the likes of Shawn Levy (“Free Guy”) and Rob McElhenney (“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”) were hired to direct different versions of “Minecraft” for the big screen, it’s Hess who got it across the finish line. What he’s done is craft a movie that, if nothing else, is full of Easter eggs that lovers of the game can obsess over. Check it out above.
While the previous trailer for “A Minecraft Movie” had to put some controversy to bed, this trailer does a lot of work to explain how things work in this universe, doing a little more to help establish the story, as well as the mechanics, at play. It also features our first look at the villain of the picture, Malgosha, the leader of the Piglin. Rachel House (“Thor: Ragnarok”) provides the voice of said villain. As for the story at hand? Here’s the official synopsis:
Four misfits — Garrett “The Garbage Man” Garrison (Jason Momoa), Henry (Eugene Hansen), Natalie (Emma Myers) and Dawn (Danielle Brooks) — find themselves struggling with ordinary problems when they are suddenly pulled through a mysterious portal into the Overworld: a bizarre, cubic wonderland that thrives on imagination. To get back home, they’ll have to master this world (and protect it from evil things like Piglins and Zombies, too) while embarking on a magical quest with an unexpected, expert crafter, Steve (Jack Black). Together, their adventure will challenge all five to be bold and to reconnect with the qualities that make each of them uniquely creative…the very skills they need to thrive back in the real world.
A Minecraft Movie is packed full of Easter eggs from the game
For a long time, it felt like Hollywood was making video game movies despite not respecting or understanding the games themselves. This resulted in wildly unfaithful, bad movies that nobody really liked. Movies like “Sonic the Hedgehog” and “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” among others, have changed the tenor of the conversation in recent years. “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” is now the biggest live-action video game movie ever. Can this movie continue the new tradition?
The Easter eggs overflowing from this trailer suggest that Hess and the writers understand what people love about “Minecraft.” While we’re not going to go over every one of them here, the baby panda that appears when the other two pandas have bamboo is a pretty deep cut. The trailer even kicks off with the so-called “water bucket clutch” that can help prevent damage in the actual game. And the recipe seen on screen for crafting the diamond sword is also accurate to the game. There’s true attention to detail here.
Warner Bros. could stand for this movie to be a hit too, as the studio is coming off of an uneven run. Last year’s “Joker: Folie a Deux” was a flop of epic proportions, for example. The company can ill-afford another disaster within a beloved universe. If this works out, it could be the start of a franchise that could run for years to come.
Also of note: for a limited time, beginning today, fans in the U.S. who purchase tickets for “A Minecraft Movie” through Fandango will receive access to an exclusive in-game jetpack add-on for “Minecraft: Bedrock Edition.” Fans elsewhere in the world will have similar opportunities via their local ticket sites.
“A Minecraft Movie” hits theaters on April 3.