Aquaman and Dune star Jason Momoa is lining up another tentpole with Warner Bros. The actor is in final negotiations to star in the studio’s live-action Minecraft movie, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed. Napoleon Dynamite filmmaker Jared Hess will direct the project, based on the popular video game.
Dune producer Mary Parent and Roy Lee will produce, with Jill Messick receiving a posthumous producing credit for developing the film before her death in 2018. Executive producers include Jon Berg, Cale Boyter and Jon Spaihts. The video game hails from Sweden’s Mojang Studios, with Mojang’s Lydia Winters and Vu Bui also producing the film.
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Minecraft debuted in 2011 and allows players to use blocks to create structures and worlds. The game became a sensation, reaching 100 million users just a few years after launch and helping spark Microsoft to 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 who have been attached to direct.
Gaming movies have been on a hot streak in recent years, with 20th Century launching a hit franchise with Ryan Reynolds’ Free Guy last year, and Paramount finding success with its Sonic sequel earlier this month.
Momoa and Warners have Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom due out in March 2023. The film is the sequel to the $1 billion-grossing 2018 film Aquaman. Momoa is repped by WME and Edelstein, Laird. Hess is repped by UTA and Sloane Offer.
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