Shawn Levy to Direct 'Minecraft' Movie

Minecraft is one of the biggest franchises in the gaming world. After its humble beginnings from indie developer Mojang, the beloved build-'em-up has gone from strength to strength. Minecraft has become a must-have game across PC, consoles, and mobile devices, jumped across different console generations, and, as of July, has now sold a whopping 54 million copies worldwide across all platforms, with console sales now outstripping PC and Mac sales.

The title has made its way into more than just the hearts of video game aficionados, too. Minecraft has become part of popular culture in its own right, with even The Simpsons creating a parody for its intro sequence. This explosion in popularity and public awareness is potentially part of why Microsoft bought out developer Mojang in a deal reported to be worth $2.5 billion.

However, Microsoft was not the first major company to take a piece of the Minecraft pie. Back in February, Warner Bros. acquired the rights to make Minecraft into a feature film. Now, news has been revealed about who is being chosen to direct the live-action adaptation. According to Deadline, Shawn Levy is in talks with Warner Bros. about directing the project. Levy is most well-known for the Night At The Museum movies, as well as Real Steel and Date Night.

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There are many questions raised from even the idea of a Minecraft movie, however. The game itself has little by way of plot, instead focusing on player creativity and free-roaming. Just how readily will the world of Minecraft lend itself to a traditional film narrative, given that the title shies away from plot in such a way? Will any of the game's few plot elements (such as the Ender Dragon) work or even be present in the film adaptation?

Perhaps that's why Warner Bros. has brought on Roy Lee to produce alongside Jill Messick. Lee was the producer of The LEGO Movie, and his experience working with a franchise focused more on user creation than narrative could prove vital if the Minecraft movie is to be coherent.

Despite their potential similarities, The LEGO Movie and Minecraft will likely end up very different beasts; after all, the Minecraft movie is set to be live-action, and will be unlikely to have the calls to pop culture that The LEGO Movie had, such as Batman and Superman.

What do you make of the news? Do you think Levy is an astute choice as director, or do you feel someone else would have been a better fit for the project? Do you think Minecraft is likely to work on the big screen? Let us know in the comments!

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Source: Deadline