HBO Max backs ‘Minecraft’ movie with ‘Aquaman’ star Jason Momoa

techcrunch.com:

It appears HBO Max is creeping up behind Netflix and Paramount+ with new gaming IP under its belt. The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that Jason Momoa is in final negotiations to star in the Warner Bros. live-action “Minecraft” movie.

The popular video game Minecraft, loved by 11-year-olds and YouTube gamers, debuted in 2011 and allows players to create worlds and structures with brown, green, and other colorful pixelated blocks. The game exploded in popularity, as stores filled up their aisles with merchandise like those foam swords and mystery toy boxes. Then, in 2014, a few years after its launch, Microsoft acquired Mojang for $2.5 billion.

The Minecraft franchise is still very popular, having been brought to multiple video game systems, given spinoffs, and won many awards since its launch. In December, it surpassed one trillion views (yes, I said trillion) on YouTube and in 2021, there were over 140 million monthly users. So it’s not at all surprising that Warner Bros. would want their hands on such a popular IP universe.

The studio has been developing a project based on the game since 2014, with Shawn Levy first set to direct, then“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” star Rob McElhenne was attached to direct but also ditched the project back in 2018. It was then set to release last month, on March 4, however, got pushed back due to “The Batman.”

Jared Hess (“Napoleon Dynamite,” “Nacho Libre”) is now set to direct from a script that was written by Chris Bowman and Hubbell Palmer. The film will be produced by Mary Parent and Roy Lee, along with Jill Messick receiving a posthumous producing credit for developing the film before her passing in 2018. Executive producers include Cale Boyter, Jon Berg, and Jon Spaihts. Sweden’s