After the success of the Lego Movie it was perhaps inevitable. Minecraft, the creative building simulation that has so far sold over 35m copies, is on the verge of becoming a film. The game’s creator, Markus ‘Notch’ Persson took to Twitter on Thursday evening to confirm rumours. “Someone is trying leak the fact that we’re working with Warner Brothers on a potential Minecraft Movie,” he wrote. “I wanted to be the leak!”
Film blog, Deadline Hollywood, first revealed the news, claiming that Warner Bros has bought the rights, and is already in the planning stages of a live action tie-in – although a release is far from confirmed at this stage. The site claims that Roy Lee, the producer of the smash hit Lego Movie, will oversee the project via his company, Vertigo Entertainment.
First launched in 2009 as a modest indie project, Minecraft has become a worldwide phenomenon, with over 100m users registered on its official site. In 2012 the game made almost $240m in revenue. Described as a digital Lego set, players are free to explore a vast, blocky landscape, building whatever they like, from castles to spaceships, with a large range of materials. Originally launched for the PC, the game is now available on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and versions for the next-generation consoles are also in development. The title has a fanatical audience of committed builders who often spend months on intricate architectural projects. Teachers are now using the game to teach children everything from mechanics to urban planning.
Speaking to the Guardian, Persson confirmed a deal is in progress, and insisted that his studio, Mojang, will retain at least a level of creative control over the project. ”I wish I knew what was secret,” he said referring to the manner of the film’s announcement. “But I can tell you that signing a ’do whatever you want to this IP’ movie rights deal doesn’t seem like something Mojang would do.”
Earlier this month the developer moved in to shut down a fan-made Minecraft movie that was seeking $600,000 on crowd-funding site, Kickstarter. Persson tweeted, “We don’t allow [...] kickstarters based on our ip without any deals in place. :/”
It remains to be seen exactly how a live action movie will capture the essence of what is essentially a sandbox building sim. Although Minecraft contains enemies in the form of zombies, exploding creepers and skeleton archers, there’s little in the way of a set narrative beyond what players create for themselves – the game didn‘t even get an ending added until 2011.
These are trifling concerns to Warner Bros though, which no doubt sees the game’s vast audience of loyal fans and a licensing operation that has already made many millions from books, toys and clothing. Hollywood, like most Minecraft fans, is adept at building mighty things out of the most basic of materials.
• Minecraft at 33 million users – a personal story
• Minecraft: how a game with no rules changed the rules of the game for ever
