The legendary actor playing Minecraft's Steve in the upcoming 2025 live-action movie has now been confirmed

A "professional render" of Jack Black as Minecraft's Steve.
(Image credit: Windows Central)

What you need to know

  • The last we heard of the Minecraft movie, it starred Jason Mamoa and was slated for an April 4, 2025 release date.
  • In a new report from Deadline, it seems that everyone's favorite Jack Black is confirmed for the Minecraft movie, too.
  • Jack Black himself strongly hinted on his Instagram that the report is accurate, showing him reading a "Minecraft Basics for Dummies" book.
  • The Minecraft movie is still mostly shrouded in mystery, but it is accruing quite a cast list.

Recent updates

Apr. 17, 2024 — In a short, comedic video shared from his trailer on Instagram, Jack Black has all but guaranteed that he's playing the role of Minecraft's iconic Steve in the upcoming live-action movie.

Thanks to an earlier tease, we already knew that legendary actor Jack Black would be starring alongside Jason Mamoa in the mysterious Minecraft movie. Now, we know which role he will be claiming, confirming strong rumors and giving us a brief peak behind the scenes of the movie's set. Jack Black shared the below video on Instagram, taken outside of his movie trailer and starting with a rather impressive rainbow and his iconic singing.

As Jack Black returns to his trailer, he pauses on the door, where we can see "STEVE" in bold letters above "Minecraft | End City Productions." The inside of the trailer features more than a few pictures of Steve across the windows, further confirming the obvious: Jack Black will be Steve.

It's still not clear how exactly the live-action Minecraft movie will work given the universe's unique visual style, but it certainly is amassing an impressive cast list. There are also rumors that Jack Black is expected to sing in the Minecraft movie, so fans of his epic voice can look forward to that. If you want to learn everything we know about the movie, you can check out our Minecraft movie FAQ.

Our original article continues below.


The Minecraft movie is largely an enigma, going through a complicated and convoluted development process that has seen it change directors and producers multiple times. The movie seems to be progressing nicely now, though, with a fresh cast of high-profile actors and an actual release date. In a new report corroborated by the man himself, it seems another huge name is joining the cast.

According to an exclusive report from Deadline, Jack Black will appear on the big screen once again, this time alongside Jason Mamoa in the upcoming Minecraft movie. The two megastars are joined by other names like Emma Myers from "Wednesday" and Danielle Brooks from "Orange is the New Black" and "The Color Purple" on Broadway.

It seems almost completely certain that Deadline's report is accurate, as Jack Black posted an image on his official Instagram showing him reading a "Minecraft Basics for Dummies" book with the simple caption "An actor prepares." That's the best confirmation we can expect from the actor short of him outright stating he's starring in the Minecraft movie.

What role could he play?

Yeah, it seems pretty likely that Jack Black is indeed confirmed for the Minecraft movie. (Image credit: @jackblack | Instagram)

Deadline's report suggests that Jack Black may claim the role of Minecraft's iconic mascot, Steve. That's definitely a huge character to step into the shoes of, but it does beg the question of what role Jason Mamoa will play. Either way, expect to see Jack Black bring his legendary energy, voice, and sense of humor to the role 

What we know about the Minecraft movie

The Minecraft movie is mostly a mystery at this point, but we do know that it's currently slated to release on April 4, 2025. We still haven't seen any trailers or even official promotional material for the movie, though, so that release date is still far from completely set in stone. We also know that the movie is being directed by Jared Hess, known for movies like Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre (also starring Jack Black).

Hopefully, we'll learn more about the Minecraft movie and its cast of star actors this year, with Jack Black and Jason Mamoa both bringing a lot of starpower to the intriguing movie adaptation of Mojang Studios and Xbox Game Studios' best-selling franchise. If you're more interested in just playing Minecraft, though, the latest test builds bring armadillos and 4K support to Xbox Series X|S.

Zachary Boddy
Staff Writer

Zachary Boddy (They / Them) is a Staff Writer for Windows Central, primarily focused on covering the latest news in tech and gaming, the best Xbox and PC games, and the most interesting Windows and Xbox hardware. They have been gaming and writing for most of their life starting with the original Xbox, and started out as a freelancer for Windows Central and its sister sites in 2019. Now a full-fledged Staff Writer, Zachary has expanded from only writing about all things Minecraft to covering practically everything on which Windows Central is an expert, especially when it comes to Microsoft. You can find Zachary on Twitter @BoddyZachary.

  • fdruid
    Clearly I'm old because when reading "legendary actor" Jack Black wouldn't ever come to mind.
    Reply
  • Zachary Boddy
    fdruid said:
    Clearly I'm old because when reading "legendary actor" Jack Black wouldn't ever come to mind.
    Time to expand your mind, then. 😜
    Reply
  • fdruid
    Zachary Boddy said:
    Time to expand your mind, then. 😜
    The same will happen to you when you're my age, that's the way life works.
    Reply