EXCLUSIVE: Production is about to get underway on Warner Bros/Vertigo/Legendary’s feature take on Mojang/Microsoft’s Minecraft, and sources are telling us that Jack Black is joining the cast of the Jason Momoa-led movie.
The pic’s plot is under wraps, with writing credits still being determined. We hear Black is playing the role of Steve.
Also starring in Minecraft are Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks and Sebastian Eugene Hansen. The Mojang sandbox title is the bestselling video game of all time, with 300 million copies sold and nearly 140M monthly active players.
The Minecraft film hails from Vertigo, co-financier Legendary, Mojang/Microsoft and Momoa’s On the Roam. Jared Hess is directing. Producers include Roy Lee, Jon Berg, Mary Parent, Cale Boyter, Momoa, Torfi Frans Olafsson, Vu Bui and the late Jill Messick. EPs are Todd Hallowell, Kayleen Walters, Brian Mendoza and Jonathan Spaihts.
Black played the part of villainous Bowser in the second highest-grossing movie of 2023, Illumination and Universal’s The Super Mario Bros Movie, which made $1.36 billion worldwide. Black recently notched his third Golden Globe nomination, this time for co-writing the movie’s love ballad “Peaches,” which he also performed.
He recently won an Emmy for Outstanding Voice Performance in a Children’s or Young Teen Program for Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight and will reprise the role of Po in the upcoming DreamWorks Animation feature Kung Fu Panda 4, which will hit theaters March 8. Through three movies, the Kung Fu Panda franchise counts $1.8 billion.
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Black is also starring in Lionsgate’s feature take of video game Borderlands, hitting cinemas on August 9. Black and Kyle Gass’ Tenacious D are on tour this spring in Europe in Tenacious D and the Spicy Meatball Tour. In 2015, Tenacious D won a Grammy for their cover of “The Last in Line” for best heavy metal performance. Black also starred in Sony’s $1.796B-grossing Jumanji franchise as well as Peter Jackson’s $556M-global grossing King Kong.
The actor is repped by Ocean Ave. and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern.
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