What just happened? The upcoming Minecraft movie has had some of its first images leak online, giving fans an early glimpse at how the video game adaptation plans to bring Mojang’s blocky world to life. The leaked photos showed actor Jack Black as the game’s default player character, Steve.
The images surfaced on 4chan before spreading across social media. They depict a bearded Jack Black decked out in Steve’s signature blue shirt and jeans, carrying a pixelated pickaxe. Another shot reveals a mossy Creeper, a cuboid bee, and a pink sheep.
Warning: Spoilers ahead.
The pictures have been scrubbed from X and Instagram due to copyright claims, all but confirming their authenticity (hint: you can still find them around if you look). The images are likely part of a “packing guide” for marketers. In addition to showing some of the movie’s characters, the images contained short blurbs about them, revealing bits and pieces of the story. For example, the text on Steve’s slide notes that an evil entity named Malgosha captures Steve and that he is later rescued by “four fresh visitors” to the Minecraft realm.
Some ‘MINECRAFT’ movie stuff.. #MINECRAFT pic.twitter.com/PoliPrYZ7E
– katfanf (@katsterlingfan) July 18, 2024
Jack Black is no stranger to video game movie adaptations. Earlier this year, he voiced the villainous Bowser in The Super Mario Bros Movie. He is also providing voice talent as the robot Claptrap in the upcoming Borderlands film, which debuts in August.
After months of secrecy from Mojang and Warner Bros, the leaked Minecraft images mark the first substantial details revealed on the project. Black had previously teased his Steve role in April with an Instagram video that showed him singing his rendition of the double rainbow song outside his movie set trailer.
The timing of this leak does seem a bit curious, coming just days after Black’s Tenacious D bandmate Kyle Gass’s apparent joke about the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, which led to controversy. Black canceled the band’s tour after the faux pas and faced significant backlash for his handling of things.
The Minecraft movie has some other big names confirmed as cast members, including Jason Momoa (Aquaman), Emma Myers (Wednesday), Danielle Brooks (The Color Purple), Sebastian Eugene Hansen (Bad News), and Jennifer Coolidge (Shotgun Wedding). There is still quite a wait before we see them in action. Minecraft doesn’t hit theaters until April 4, 2025.