Jack Black’s Minecraft Movie Character Was Almost Completely Different

First published by Mojang Studios in 2011, “Minecraft” is the best selling video game of all time, one that can be enjoyed on different levels by gamers of all ages. So the only outwardly weird thing about Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures knocking out a film adaptation of the game is that it took 13 years for them to get around to it.

Does it matter that “Minecraft” isn’t a narratively complex game like, say, “Resident Evil” or “Assassin’s Creed?” Not at all! There have been two movies based on “Super Mario Bros.,” which boasts a pretty perfunctory storyline, while fighting games like “Street Fighter” and “Mortal Kombat,” where the characters do little more than beat the snot out of each other, have been grist for films as well. All that matters is the massive popularity of the brand, and, in the case of “Minecraft,” the understanding that parents have a high tolerance for low-aiming kids movies. As long as they keep their kids suitably entertained, they’ll put up with some pretty lousy flicks.

Judging from the trailer, “Minecraft” looks to be par for the meh course as far as these things go, but the involvement of director Jared Hess, who stepped up after talented folks like Rob McElhenney (“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”) and Peter Sollett (“Raising Victor Vargas”) couldn’t get the project out of development, suggests WB and Legendary are serious about making a film of actual quality. You might find that hard to believe after watching Jack Black yuk it up as the “Minecraft” character Steve in the trailer, but maybe count your blessings because that initially wasn’t supposed to be Jack Black.

In a Variety feature on the making of “Minecraft,” Mojang Studios’ senior director of content, Torfi Frans Ólafsson, revealed that Steve, who is the game’s original player avatar, was quite different early on in development. “His character was originally a talking pig,” said Ólafsson. “And it was very, very, very late in the development where we had the idea to switch it to become Steve, because we needed an expert and host.”

Fans’ balking at the notion of Black doing his Black shtick as Steve might want to consider that the star put in over 100 hours of game time on “Minecraft” while making the movie. “He was just completely manic, hoarding stuff in the mines, searching for lapis lazuli because he liked the way it sounds,” said Ólafsson. “He kept saying it: ‘Can I talk about lapis lazuli in the movie?'”

So maybe “Minecraft” fanatics should cut Black some slack prior to seeing the film for themselves. It is, after all, a “Nacho Libre” reunion between the star and Hess, and loads of people love that movie (it’s one of Jack Black’s best according to /Film). Still, for those worried about Black ruining the sanctity of Steve, Ólafsson had this to say: “This is not my Steve or your Steve — this is Jack Black’s Steve. A lot of fans responded when they saw the first teasers and trailers, like, ‘Hey, wait a minute — this is just Jack Black. This isn’t Jack Black being someone else.’ And maybe it is, because this is literally him interpreting this character and what it means to him.”

We’ll find out when “Minecraft” hits theaters on April 4, 2025.