Jack Black Signs Up For Another Billion-Dollar Video Game Adaptation
There’s no reason to mess with success, and success is casting Jack Black in your animated video game adaptation. Black stole the show in The Super Mario Bros Movie as Bowser, and now he’ll be joining the upcoming Minecraft movie alongside Jason Momoa. While there aren’t any details on the plot of the film yet, rumors indicate that Black will be playing the character, Steve.
Jack Black Rumored To Voice The Lead In The Minecraft Movie
Joining Jack Black and Jason Momoa in Minecraft are Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks, and Sebastian Eugene Hansen. Jared Hess is on board to direct the project, which is based on the bestselling video game of all time.
While video game adaptations were once low-budget affairs that were typically on the so-bad-it’s-fun side of the aisle, recent wins like Sonic the Hedgehog, The Super Mario Bros Movie, and The Last of Us have proven that video game adaptations can be good and massively successful.
Jack Black Steals The Show As Bowser
Jack Black’s version of Bowser was one of the best parts of The Super Mario Bros Movie, which cleared $1 billion at the box office to become the second highest-grossing movie of 2023. With the popularity of Minecraft and the undeniably great cast, it seems likely that this film will also find plenty of financial success. Especially if Black contributes a hit song like “Peaches.”
Jack Black Returns As Po In The Next Kung Fu Panda Film
Jack Black joining the Minecraft movie is the latest in a series of wins for the actor, as Black recently nabbed an Emmy for his performance in Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight animated series. Black will be voicing Po, the titular Kung Fu Panda, again in the upcoming Kung Fu Panda 4. The billion-dollar film franchise continues with an entry that sees Black’s Po training his Dragon Warrior replacement, a fox named Zhen (Awkwafina).
Black’s Also Voicing Claptrap In The Borderlands Movie
Jack Black also has another video game adaptation on the way in addition to his Minecraft role. Black is set to star in the film adaptation of Borderlands, playing the boisterous robot Claptrap. The Eli Roth-directed feature will also star Ariana Greenblatt, Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Edgar Ramirez, Florian Munteanu, and Jamie Lee Curtis.
Tenacious D
When Jack Black isn’t busy filming movies like Minecraft and Borderlands, he’ll be touring with Tenacious D, his two-piece band with musician Kyle Gass. Tenacious D are hitting Europe this spring for their Spicy Meatball Tour. Most recently, the pair released a song and accompanying music video called “Video Games,” which is fitting given Black’s recent film career roles.
More Of Jack Black’s Upcoming Projects
While Jack Black’s career has been very focused on voice work and video games as of late, Minecraft and Borderlands aren’t the only projects he has on the way. Black will be reuniting with the Farrelly Brothers over two decades after their 2001 feature Shallow Hal to star in Dear Santa. The film, which also stars Keegan-Michael Key, follows a boy whose yearly letter to Santa gets mixed up and gets accidentally sent to Satan instead.We won’t get to see Jack Black in Minecraft until 2025, but we’ll get to see Borderlands and Kung Fu Panda 4 before then. Both films are set for a 2024 release, with Kung Fu Panda 4 set for a March 8 release. Stay tuned for more news on the Minecraft movie and other upcoming video game projects.Source: Deadline
