Minecraft fans devastated by ‘awful’ live-action trailer: ‘This should have been animated’

‘A Minecraft Movie’ features a star-studded cast of Jack Black, Jason Momoa, Jennifer Coolidge and Danielle Brooks

Warner Bros has unveiled the first trailer for its live-action Minecraft movie leaving gaming fans extremely disappointed.

From Napoleon Dynamite director Jared Hess, the forthcoming film, titled A Minecraft Movie, features a star-studded cast of Jack Black, Jason Momoa, Oscar nominee Danielle Brooks (The Color Purple), Wednesday star Emma Myers and Jennifer Coolidge.

The movie is an adaptation of Mojang Studios’ best-selling video game, which was first released in 2009, and has sold over 300 million copies with nearly 140 million monthly active players.

A Minecraft Movie welcomes viewers to a world “where creativity doesn’t just help you craft, it’s essential to one’s survival!” an official description reads.

“Four misfits – Garrett ‘The Garbage Man’ Garrison (Momoa), Henry (Sebastian Eugene Hansen), Natalie (Myers) and Dawn (Brooks) – find themselves struggling with ordinary problems when they are suddenly pulled through a mysterious portal into the Overworld: a bizarre, cubic wonderland that thrives on imagination.”

In order to return home, they’ll have to “master this world (and protect it from evil things like Piglins and Zombies, too) while embarking on a magical quest with an unexpected, expert crafter, Steve (Black).”

Scenes in the first teaser, released on Wednesday (September 4), show the four adventurers entering the Overworld; a pink goat, a wolf howling into the night and an army of pigs.

A CGI sheep in 'A Minecraft Movie' (Warner Bros Pictures)

Although Hess kept the game’s iconic geometrical block shape for the landscape and CGI animals, several fans lamented the fact that the movie isn’t animated.

“This should have been animated and not live-action,” one person tweeted, while a second declared: “Oh this is gonna be so bad.”

“IT LOOKS AWFUL,” a third agreed.

“Anyone could’ve guessed this but this is very clearly a movie worked on by people whose kids play Minecraft and not by anybody who actually plays Minecraft,” another argued.

“I didn’t expect a lot from a live-action Minecraft movie but this ain’t it,” one added, with another commenting: “This looks worse than I’d imagine a Minecraft movie being.”

Danielle Brooks, Jason Momoa, Sebastian Eugene Hansen and Emma Myers in ‘A Minecraft Movie’ (Warner Bros Pictures)

A Minecraft Movie is scheduled to be released in theaters on April 4, 2025.

This isn’t the first time live-action adaptations of popular video games have received backlash.

The 2020 Sonic the Hedgehog movie was forced to redesign its version of the eponymous star after fans criticized the first design, which featured Sonic with creepily human eyes and teeth, elongated legs and a human-like torso.

Director Jeff Fowler thanked fans for their “support and criticism” and pledged to redesign the character while delaying the film’s release by three months.