Jason Momoa is about to get very pixelated. The “Aquaman” and “Dune” actor is in negotiations to star in a live-action movie based on the popular video game “Minecraft” that remains in development, an individual with knowledge of the project told TheWrap.
Jared Hess (“Napoleon Dynamite”) will direct the film, while “Dune” producer Mary Parent will produce along with Roy Lee and Jill Messick receiving a posthumous producing credit. Also producing the film are the “Minecraft” developers Mojang Studios, including Lydia Winters and Vu Bui serving as producers.
“Minecraft” first launched in 2011 and is a sandbox video game with a distinct blocky design in which players can explore and craft on a virtually endless terrain of open-world space. Players can spend untold hours mining resources, crafting tools and building elaborate structures. And depending on the game mode, players can either maintain and build all their structures in order to survive from AI mobs that attack at night, or they can explore, interact, cooperate and spectate other worlds created by friends and players around the globe.
The game over time has become a wild sensation for its open world, endless possibilities and customizable game tools, spawning numerous copycats and multiple spinoff games that share its unique yet rudimentary visual style. The games have sold over 238 million copies worldwide, and nearly 140 million monthly users are still active on the game as of 2021. Microsoft even bought the intellectual property for “Minecraft” in 2014 for a whopping $2.5 billion.
People have been chipping away at a “Minecraft” movie for years now, with directors like Shawn Levy and Rob McElhenney all at one point attached to direct. And video game movies themselves are seeing a wave of interest at the box office, especially with the success of “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” at the box office this month.
Momoa will next be seen in “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,” which will open March 17, 2023.
Momoa is represented by WME and Edelstein, Laird. Hess is represented by UTA and Sloane Offer.
The Ankler first reported that Momoa was circling the “Minecraft” movie.
