Why A MINECRAFT MOVIE’s First Trailer is Getting Intense Backlash
By Movieguide® Contributor
In the era of video game adaptations, one of the biggest video games ever may have just proven that popularity isn’t the only thing that matters when bringing these franchises to the big screen.
The trailer for A MINECRAFT MOVIE released less than a week ago, and while garnering over 30 million views in that time, fans’ dissatisfaction with the movie has been made clear as the sneak peek has amassed 1.3 million dislikes in that time — more than double the roughly 600 thousand likes it’s received.
The major problem comes from the movie’s chosen art style. Rather than offer a fun adventure in Minecraft’s iconic blocky world, the movie instead chose a semi-realistic, semi-blocky render that has left everyone dissatisfied.
More problematic, however, is the choice to use live-action actors within the world. Again, rather than capitalizing on iconic characters from Minecraft’s lore, Warner Bros. Discovery plopped Jack Black, Jason Mamoa and others into the animated world. Meanwhile, the animals and villains of the movie remain animated, further making the actors feel out of place.
The heavy backlash around the Minecraft movie harkens back to the dissatisfaction voiced by millions of Sonic fans when the first trailer for that movie was released in 2019. The creators of that movie listened to their fans and re-rendered the entire movie with a new art style. That decision paid off, and Sonic has gone on to become a very successful movie and TV show franchise.
A MINECRAFT MOVIE, however, appears to be unlikely to receive similar treatment as the director of the movie, Jason Hess, revealed months ago that he thought fans might respond similarly to how they did with the SONIC movie, but they chose this art style to appeal to younger fans. Thus, the movie’s production has already considered the movie’s art style and remains committed to the one they have chosen.
“Welcome to the world of Minecraft,” a synopsis of the movie reads. “Where creativity doesn’t just help you craft, it’s essential to one’s survival! Four misfits—Garrett “The Garbage Man” Garrison (Momoa), Henry ([Sebastian 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 (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 set to hit theaters on April 4, 2025. Those interested in the trailer can watch it here.
Movieguide® previously reported:
Variety just confirmed that KUNG FU PANDA and NACHO LIBRE actor Jack Black joined the cast of the new MINECRAFT movie alongside Jason Momoa.
Black will also join “WEDNESDAY’S Emma Myers and THE COLOR PURPLE actor Danielle Brooks. Production is expected to begin imminently in New Zealand,” Variety reported.
“The Mojang sandbox title is the bestselling video game of all time, with 300 million copies sold and nearly 140M monthly active players,” Deadline reported.
“NAPOLEON DYNAMITE filmmaker Jared Hess, who previously worked with Black on the 2006 comedy NACHO LIBRE, is directing the project,” Variety said. “Warner Bros. and Legendary are backing MINECRAFT.”
Though the actors and director are confirmed, little else is known about the plot or direction of the movie. The writers’ names have also not yet been revealed, nor has the target audience.
