A Minecraft Movie is now in theaters, and it turns out the team behind the film built their own Minecraft private server that was accessible to the whole cast and crew in order to make the movie as authentic as possible. In fact, Jack Black himself set out to prove he was a “real Minecrafter” and built a massive mansion on top of the highest mountain — with an art gallery.
Having Minecraft so readily available was a huge help for the filmmakers when creating A Minecraft Movie, and producer Torfi Frans Ólafsson told IGN it fostered a feeling of “being in an indie game studio, where things are jamming and ideas are floating around everywhere.” While they couldn’t utilize every idea that came out of that as the “train was already moving,” it did give them a chance to “add a little pizzazz” on top of the film and make it feel true to the game.
A Minecraft Movie director Jared Hess added that Black, who plays Steve in the film, was all the way in on playing Minecraft and proving he could stand toe-to-toe with the best.
“It was so much fun,” Hess said. “Jack was super-weirdly method with the game. He was in his trailer harvesting lapis lazuli and always building stuff. [He] was geeking out on the game and would come back with ideas. It was a constantly evolving thing where everybody was contributing in their own fun, unique way.”
“I had an Xbox in my trailer and I did play because an actor prepares,” Jack Black added with a grin. “So I got as many hours as I could on this Minecraft server, which had tons of props from all the different departments.
“The cast and crew on the server were building some insane structures and I wanted to stand out. I wanted everyone to know that I was a real Minecrafter, so I said I was going to find the biggest, highest mountain in this world and build a stairway to Steve and a mansion up on top of that hill. I had a basement in there with an art gallery and… I don’t even know if it’s still there!”
“It’s up!” Ólafsson confirmed. “I kept it up and I extended it for a year. I popped up in there a couple days ago and I said, ‘Wait, there’s somebody online!’ I went in, and there were these two security guards who worked the gate on set and and they’re like, ‘Hey, welcome!’ I said, “You guys are still in here?’ and they said, “Oh, yeah!”
While it remains to be seen if we’ll ever see Jack Black’s ‘Real Minecrafter’ Mansion, it’s always a joy to hear what goes into making a movie and how these filmmakers brought the beloved game to life.
For more, check out our review of A Minecraft Movie, our explainer of the film’s ending and post-credits scene, and how it had the biggest domestic box office debut in history for a video game adaptation last weekend.
Adam Bankhurst is a writer for IGN. You can follow him on X/Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on TikTok.
