Jack Black is set to play Steve in A Minecraft Movie, but that wasn’t always going to be the case. Originally, Black was actually going to play a talking pig. No porky pies here – really, a talking pig.
In an interview with Variety, Mojang senior director of original content Torfi Frans Ólafsson revealed Black’s switch to become Steve happened “very, very, very late” in the game. Ólafsson stated the team “needed an expert and host” in the film, and so Black went from being envisioned as a talking pig to becoming Steve.
Now, if you saw the trailers with Jack Black as Steve, and said to yourself (or even out loud), ‘hang on, that isn’t Steve! That’s just Jack Black in a blue shirt!’. Well, you weren’t alone, and the A Minecraft Movie team is aware of those reactions.
“This is not my Steve or your Steve – this is Jack Black’s Steve,” Ólafsson said of the part. “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.”
Meanwhile, Ólafsson got the cast and crew Xboxes for the trailers while on set, and booted up private Minecraft servers. The Mojang exec said Black logged over 100 hours on the blocky game, and became “the most passionate player” on set.
“He was just completely manic, hoarding stuff in the mines, searching for lapis lazuli because he liked the way it sounds,” Ólafsson told the publication. “He kept saying it: ‘Can I talk about lapis lazuli in the movie?'”
So, I guess listen out for mentions of Minecraft’s blue mineral when the film releases next month.
To tie in with the upcoming film, the Minecraft team has also made that leaked movie pack for the game official. The ‘A Minecraft Movie’ in-game Hero Pack will be available from today, 20th March.
The Minecraft Movie is set to release on 4th April. Along with Black’s Steve, the film also stars Jason Momoa as Garrett “The Garbage Man” Garrison.
Away from the big screen, an animated Minecraft series was also announced for Netflix back in May. Netflix will produce the project alongside Minecraft developer Mojang Studios, while WildBrain Studios – the studio behind Sonic Prime – will handle the development.
While further details are thin on the ground, it is said the upcoming show will “feature an original story with new characters, showing the world of ‘Minecraft’ in a new light”.