‘A Minecraft Movie' Was Almost A Lot Better Without Jack Black, Originally

Forbes

09-04-2025

Minecraft
A Minecraft Movie has made over $300 million already, making it the highest-grossing opening for a video game movie ever, and it's well on its way to a billion dollars and spawning a whole franchise.
The movie, as an actual movie, is not particularly good. Some would say it's quite bad. Some would say it's the worst movie they've seen in years. But the power of the IP and the devotion of young fans to its memes have made it a huge hit. However, the movie could have been a lot better with one change.
As it turns out, Matt Berry was originally supposed to play Steve, Jack Black's character and the main figure from the game. That's according to a Puck newsletter that says Berry was going to have the part before scheduling conflicts as a result of the strikes stopped that from happening. Berry was instead relegated to a (very funny) cameo at the end of the film, voicing the Villager, the character involved in a romance in the real world with Jennifer Coolidge. I'm told that in early test screenings, he also did the opening narration for the film.
What We Do in the Shadows
Would the movie have been better? Almost certainly. There are few actors more hilarious than Matt Berry, star of What We Do in the Shadows, where this news has already had people quoting Minecraft in his voice ('chicken jockeeeehhyy!'). I have little doubt he would have been funnier than Jack Black. However, it's almost certain he would have been less bankable.
Whether you like or dislike the somewhat overexposed Jack Black at this stage in his career, he's generally great for the box office. Before Minecraft exploded with all this revenue, he also voiced Bowser in the Super Mario Bros. movie, the other enormous game adaptation (he was also in Borderlands, but we don't talk about Borderlands). Black's voicework also extends to the profitable Kung Fu Panda series where he's the lead there. Another huge role is alongside The Rock, Kevin Hart and Karen Gillan in the successful Jumanji series. As much as I like Matt Berry, and think Minecraft would have been a better movie with him leading it, it's hard to argue that Black isn't the bigger star, and that likely helped the film's prospects.
Jack Black will return as Steve in an inevitable sequel that doesn't really even have to be debated. It's happening. You don't find this kind of success without immediately starting to develop a second (or third) film. Maybe Berry can return in a bigger role next time, so he's at least further involved somehow.
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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.