Jason Momoa to star in ‘Minecraft’ live-action movie

Los Angeles, April 19 (IANS): Actor Jason Momoa is all set to enter the video game world of ‘Minecraft’ for Warner Bros.

The ‘Aquaman’ star is in talks to join a live-action movie based on the massively popular ‘Minecraft’ video game, which is the best-selling game of all time with more than 238 million copies sold since its release in 2011, reports ‘Variety’.

Jared Hess, known for directing ‘Napoleon Dynamite’, ‘Nacho Libre’ and more, will helm the film. Mary Parent and Roy Lee will produce, and Jill Messick will receive a posthumous credit for working on the film prior to her death in 2018.

Jon Berg, Cale Boyter and Jon Spaihts will executive produce. Mojang Studios, the Swedish video game developer behind Minecraft, will produce via Lydia Winters and Vu Bui.

‘Minecraft’ launched in 2011 and instantly became a worldwide hit. Players can create their own 3D worlds using colorfull blocks by mining materials and crafting items.

In 2021, there were nearly 140 million monthly users, and the game has been brought to multiple video game systems, given spinoffs and won many awards over the years. Microsoft acquired Mojang Studios for USD 2.5 billion in 2014, which was one of the first major video game developer acquisitions.

A Minecraft movie has been in the works for years, with Shawn Levy, Rob McElhenney and Peter Sollett in talks to direct. At one point, Steve Carell was lined up to star in a movie adaptation.

Up next for Momoa is ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’, which is set for March 17, 2023, and he’s revving up his engine for aFast and Furious 10′.