The first trailer has released for A Minecraft Movie, and it's looking action-packed.
The movie will be largely animated, but features live-action characters, too.
A good little while after it was first announced, we've finally got the first teaser trailer for A Minecraft Movie, the animated adaptation of one of the most popular video games of all time.
The movie wil arrive in 2025, and we'll doubtless get a closer look at it before then, but for now this teaser actually does contain plenty of interesting glimpses and moments, including the core reveal of the film's art style.
It demonstrates that the movie will be animated for the most part, but with its main characters as live-action people superimposed into the virtual block-based world.
This includes Jason Momoa in a frankly baffling costume and hairstyle, Danielle Brooks (Orange is the New Black), Emma Myers (Wednesday) and relative newcomer Sebastian Eugene Hansen.
Flight of the Conchords' Jemaine Clement and Jennifer Coolidge lend their comedy acting talents, by voicing animated characters most likely.
The most interesting look in the trailer, though, goes to Jack Black.
He's playing the nearly voiceless default protagonist of Minecraft's worlds – Steve, complete with that perfectly blue shirt and pants. Introduced to great fanfare at the end of the trailer, his appearance is causing some consternation.
It's summed up by one fan in the YouTube comments who ranted: "If you're gonna do photorealism, DO THAT, if you're gonna go block realism, DO THAT! don't MIX THE TWO!"
Still, most people will probably give A Minecraft Movie far more rope – this is just an early teaser, and we'll doubtless see more of Black as Steve in subsequent trailers.
After all, the looks at various blocky animated versions of animals, from llamas to sheep, seem pretty charming, and a nice softer-edged interpretation of the game's now iconic art style.
It'll doubtless be a required cinema visit for a generation of kids that grew up on Minecraft's endless crafting, exploration and survival loop – and it'll be very interesting to see come its 2025 release whether it can continue the trend of major cinema wins for many video game adaptations of late. Just don't mention Borderlands.
