A Preview of A Minecraft Movie
Even if you’ve never spent a day in your life playing it, you’ve probably heard of Minecraft. Since the alpha build was released sixteen years ago, it’s become one of the most popular video games ever. It’s not hard to see why, either: the premise, while essential, allows for almost infinite creativity. It’s gotten to the point where people make a living streaming Minecraft, with some of the biggest streamers gaining celebrity status. Given how popular the game has become, it was a matter of time before people would try making a movie out of it. However, A Minecraft Movie has not been without its fair share of controversy.
The basic premise for the film is that four misfits find themselves transported to the Overworld of Minecraft. There, they meet Steve, played by Jack Black, who’s dedicated his life to exploring this strange, new world. However, things go awry when Steve accidentally opens up a portal of the more dangerous Nether, putting the Overworld at risk. Thus, the five misfits must use the power of their imaginations to save the Overworld, and potentially fight a dragon.
Initial Fan Reactions to A Minecraft Movie
When the first teaser for A Minecraft Movie dropped, fans hated it. They acted like it was the second coming of Ugly Sonic. The main reason for all the hate is that the main characters are all played in live-action while everything else is CGI. This isn’t a new concept, with plenty of movies doing this. However, what makes it especially egregious is just how out of place the actor’s look in the world of Minecraft. Some fans were so upset that they chose to recreate the entire trailer in Minecraft animation just to show Warner Bros how it’s done.
In addition, the plot to A Minecraft Movie sounds rather basic. There are already plenty of stories where someone gets summoned to another world and then has to save it. In Japan, there’s even an entire genre of fiction based around the concept, or as they call it, isekai.
Changing Opinions
As more and more trailers for the movie have come out, though, people’s opinions on it have somewhat softened. The trailers give the impression that A Minecraft Movie is aiming to capture the spirit of the game as best as possible. While I’m not as familiar with it as I would like, there were plenty of things from the game that I could recognize. Sadly, it remains unclear whether the film will include references to the thing that made Minecraft successful: the fans.
A major part of the appeal to Minecraft is its general lack of a story. The most the base game has regarding a story is the players have to beat the Ender Dragon at the end. It’s up to the players to create everything else.
So they’ve ended up creating everything.
We Built this Game on Wood and Stone
Trying to describe here how much people have made in Minecraft would be impossible. Players from all over the world have managed to create entire universes out of the game; if not their own creations, then recreations from other works of fiction. If there are fans of something and they play Minecraft, someone will probably try to build it. Some of the biggest servers have hundreds, or even thousands, of people playing together. They’ve formed their own societies, populated by both everyday people and titans of the community.
Minecraft has been a massive boon for people seeking to make a name as streamers. The biggest Minecraft players frequently have follower counts in the millions and could be worth just as much. Players speak names like Dream, TommyInnit, and Technoblade with the same significance as the biggest stars in Hollywood. Even mention the name of the late Technoblade to most players, and they will likely respond with reverence in their voices to the stories about him.
The bottom line is that expectations surrounding A Minecraft Movie are high because fans love the game. So, they better not mess this up.
