Aquaman and Dune star Jason Momoa pitches another tent pole with Warner Bros. The actor is in final negotiations to star in the studio’s live-action Minecraft film, has confirmed. Napoleon Dynamite filmmaker Jared Hess will direct the project, which is based on the popular video game.
Dune producer Mary Parent and Roy Lee will produce, with Jill Messick posthumously receiving credit as producer for developing the film before her death in 2018. Executive producers include Jon Berg, Cale Boyter and Jon Spaihts. The video game is from Sweden’s Mojang Studios, with Mojang’s Lydia Winters and Vu Bui also producing the film.
Minecraft debuted in 2011 and allows players to use blocks to create structures and worlds. The game became a sensation, hitting 100 million users just a few years after launch and helping Microsoft acquire Mojang for $2.5 billion in 2014.
Warners has been developing a project based on the game for years, with Shawn Levy and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia star Rob McElhenney among those directing.
Feature films have had a hot spell in recent years, with 20th Century launching a successful franchise with Ryan Reynolds’ Free Guy last year and Paramount finding success with its Sonic sequel earlier this month.
Momoa and Warners will release Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom in March 2023. The film is the sequel to the $1 billion film Aquaman from 2018. Momoa is represented by WME and Gemstone, Laird. Hess is represented by UTA and Sloane Offer.