Jack Black jokes about winning an Oscar for Minecraft movie as he reveals the super specific detail he's bringing over from the games

Mar. 18, 2024

Exclusive: The Kung Fu Panda 4 actor has been putting in the work when it comes to Minecraft research

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

Jack Black is desperate to carry a surprisingly specific detail over from the Minecraft games to the upcoming movie adaptation, which he’s just started filming withAquamanstar Jason Momoa.

While chatting with the actor aboutKung Fu Panda 4recently,GamesRadar+brought up an earlier interview of Black’s in which he stated he likes to relax by playing some Xbox. We then asked him outright whether he’d had a chance to brush up on Minecraft given his latest projects, prompting the Jack Blackiest of all replies: “Oh, youknowI’m playing Minecraft all the time. Whenever I’m not filming I’m playing Minecraft because an actorprepares.

“I like to be in that Minecraft headspace. I like to know the rules, and I like to get little, like, things like, ‘Oh, in the game you pickaxe like this. You hit stuff like that,’ then I do that in the movie. I think the members of the Academy will appreciate my research later. I don’t want to jinx it, but I’m pretty sure I’m getting an Oscar for this one…”

Sometimes described as “online Lego”,Mojang’s Minecraft sees players explore various landscapes and use 3D blocks to make things, construct shelters, and even battle mobs depending on which mode they’ve selected. In survival mode, players are tasked with hunting for resources, while making sure to maintain their health. Elsewhere, creative mode gives players unlimited resources and access to flight.

With production on the movie having only kicked off in New Zealand in January, little is known about the adaptation other than the fact it’ll be live-action, Black is playing ‘Steve’, and Jared Hess, who previously worked with Black on Nacho Libre, is directing. It’ll also feature the likes of Barbie’s Kate McKinnon, Flight of the Conchords' Jermaine Clement, Wednesday’s Emma Myers, The Color Purple’s Danielle Brooks, What We Do in the Shadows' Matt Berry, and Jennifer Coolidge. Oh, and Black might have a musical number in it… à la ‘Peaches’ fromThe Super Mario Bros. Movie…

“I’m hopefully going to be singing in it,” Brooks toldIGNlast month. “You can’t do a movie with Danielle Brooks and Jack Black and not have us do something. I’m having a good time.”

Sign up for the Total Film Newsletter

Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox

I am an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things TV and film across our Total Film and SFX sections. Elsewhere, my words have been published by the likes of Digital Spy, SciFiNow, PinkNews, FANDOM, Radio Times, and Total Film magazine.

Enola Holmes 3 is moving forward as Netflix sequel finds director – and Millie Bobby Brown is expected to return

Marvel star Josh Brolin recalls when Steven Spielberg brutally shot him down for overacting in The Goonies: “He wasn’t being an a**hole, he was right”

Secret Level’s Pac-Man episode had one big request from developers: “We would like the audiences to wonder, ‘What the f*ck did they do to Pac-Man?'”