Netflix is making its own Minecraft adaptation now
No, you're not crazy to think that this was already happening. Warner Bros. is also working on their own Minecraft movie starring Jason Momoa.
Aux News Netflix
In ancient studies, there’s a school of research called “comparative mythology” that traces how similar motifs tend to spring up in folklore from different cultures around the world. The same seems to be true of Hollywood right now, although the motivating force is clearly more “creative bankruptcy” than “universal nature of the human spirit.” Just yesterday, Netflix’s A Family Affair—which is really just a Nicole Kidman-flavored version of Prime Video’s The Idea Of You—dropped its first trailer. But that’s not even the project that will make future comparative Hollywood historians scratch their heads the most.
Today, Netflix announced that they were making a series based on the Minecraft games. In a vacuum, this wouldn’t be surprising news at all. Video game adaptations are on the rise, and Minecraft is one of the most popular video games of all time. Seems like a logical decision, right?
The thing is, Warner Bros. is already making a Minecraft movie, one they officially announced all the way back in 2019 and have been kicking around since at least four years before that. Of course, the live-action film—which was initially slotted for a 2022 release–hasn’t hit screens yet. Still, the project has been steadily rolling out a roster of “did they really need to do this movie?” type stars for months now, including Jason Momoa, Jennifer Coolidge, Jermaine Clement, Kate McKinnon, and more. It seems pretty safe to assume the film will actually hit its newly planned 2025 release date this time.
But now, this long gestating project will also have to compete with Netflix’s Minecraft series, which the streamer announced during development studio Mojang’s celebration of the game’s 15th anniversary (via Variety). Unlike the Warner Bros. flick, which will somehow turn Momoa into a little block man, Netflix’s series will be animated in collaboration with WildBrain, the studio behind titles like Sonic Prime, Ninjago: Dragons Rising, and more. No other details are known as of this writing, except for the fact that the show “will feature an original story with new characters, showing the world of ‘Minecraft’ in a new light.”
So that’s two (and maybe counting?) series now. Your move, Hulu.