Mojang game studio founder Markus Persson, who was the main creative force behind worldwide indie game hit Minecraft, revealed via his Twitter account today that his company has been in discussions with Warner Bros. Studios to make a movie based on the popular world-building sim.
Persson says he “leaked” the info to beat another leaker to the punch, which is a pretty hilarious way to announce something. A Minecraft movie makes a lot of sense, especially in light of the success of the recent Lego movie, and in light of the fact that there are now 100 million registered users playing the original PC-based Minecraft (it now appears on virtually every platform, including mobile and home gaming consoles), and that the game had sold over 14 million copies as of the beginning of this month.
In short, people like Minecraft, and people will also probably like a Minecraft movie. So, dollar signs in studio executive eyes, etc etc. People are already vying for casting, but obviously we need the venerable Nicholas Cage as a Creeper.
Shortly after Persson tweeted the leak to beat the other leak, the other leak appeared, from Deadline. The report says that Warner Bros. acquired the film rights to the game, and that it’ll be a live action version, with a lot of interest already from writers, directors and more. Lego movie producer Roy Lee is spearheading early production efforts, the report adds.