Minecraft: The Movie

The Minecraft Movie is an American film based on the video game Minecraft. It is being directed by from a screenplay by Chris Bowman and  and is currently slated to be released on September 18, 2020 by,.

Plot
A teenage girl and her unlikely group of adventurers must save their beautiful, blocky Overworld after the malevolent Ender Dragon sets out on a path of destruction.

Development
On February 27, 2014, Notch posted on Twitter that Mojang Studios' partnership with Pixar Animation Studios about a Minecraft film was being "leaked", saying that he wanted to be the one to leak it out. That same day, it was reported that and  were added as producers.

On October 8, 2014, Vu Bui stated that the movie was in "its early days of development", saying that it was a "large-budget production" and that it was planned to release within three to four years. Later that same month, it was reported that would direct the film, but soon left the project along with  and Michele Mulroney, who were serving as writers, due to creative differences and scheduling conflicts. It was reported that Levy and the Mulroney's vision for the film didn't mesh well with what Mojang was looking for. Levy would later state in an interview that he envisioned a Minecraft film as an adventure movie with a Goonies flair.

On July 21, 2015, Vu Bui announced that would serve as the director of the film.

On June 27, 2016, Mojang Studios announced the title and release date for The Minecraft Movie by showing the front cover of the script and publicly announcing a release date of May 24, 2019.

On October 13, 2016, it was reported that would be writing the script alongside McElhenney.

On February 7, 2018, producer committed suicide at age 50, making The Minecraft Movie the last movie she worked on.

On August 3, 2018, it was reported that Rob McElhenney and Jason Fuchs were replaced by writing duo. The film was taken off the release schedule as a result of the replacement. McElhenney would later state that his vision of the film was budgeted at $150 million, and that studios in Vancouver were booked for filming, but it "slowly died on the vine" when studio head Greg Silverman was replaced by, who had a different vision for the film.

On January 3, 2019, it was reported that has been appointed for the film's visual effects. Later that same month, it was reported that would write and direct the film, with Jon Berg being added as a producer, and  being added as an executive producer, along with information about the plot revolving around the Ender Dragon destroying the Overworld. This information would be confirmed the following April in a blog post made on the Minecraft website, announcing that the film would be released on March 4, 2017.

On June 24, 2017, it was reported that would be writing the latest script for the film.

On April 18, 2016, it was reported that would direct the film, along with Chris Bowman and  writing the latest script. Lydia Winters and were also added as producers, while  was also added as an executive producer.

On April 5, 2018, it was reported that the film is now slated to release on September 18, 2020.

On May 23, 2018, it was reported that Jason Momoa and Torfi Frans Olafsson were added as producers.

Casting
In November 2016, it was reported that was in talks to star in the film, but left the project due to scheduling conflicts.

In April 2017, it was reported that is in talks to star in the film.

In May 2018, it was reported that is in talks to star in the film.

Filming
In June 2018, it was reported that filming is set to begin in August in New Zealand.

Release
The film is being distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures and is currently slated to release on September 18, 2020. It was originally scheduled to be released on May 24, 2019, but was then taken off the release schedule in August 2018 due to the aforementioned replacement of McElhenney and Fuchs. In April 2019, it was announced that the film would be released on March 4, 2017, but it was again taken off the release schedule in October 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with  taking its place.