Jason Momoa, Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge and Danielle Brooks have hit play on A Minecraft Movie.
The main cast members, as well as Emma Myers and Sebastian Eugene Hansen, were all in attendance at the film’s world premiere on a sunny spring day in London’s Leicester Square on Sunday, where the green grass carpet stretched in front of the Cineworld theater.
The movie, based on the video game of the same name, centers around four misfits who are suddenly pulled through a mysterious portal into a bizarre, cubic wonderland that thrives on imagination. To get back home, they’ll have to master their new reality’s quirks while embarking on a quest with an unexpected, expert crafter, as Black steps into the shoes of the iconic character Steve.
The Hollywood Reporter caught up with Momoa and Black at the premiere, where both said the world needs A Minecraft Movie right now. “What the world needs now is love, sweet love,” Black said, singing Burt Bacharach’s 1965 hit. “We’ve got to work together, my God. There’s so much violence and war and hatred. And that’s what I love about this movie — there’s a lot of love in it and there’s a lot of creativity. There is some anger and violence too, but in the end it’s about friendship and working together to make [the world] a better place.”
Black continued, piling on the praise for director Jared Hess and his fellow castmembers: “Jared is such a force of creativity and has such a unique perspective. And this cast was amazing, top to bottom. You’ve got Jason Momoa, worth the price of admission; Danielle Brooks, who is fantastic; Emma Myers, she’s fantastic. You’ve got this new kid [Hansen], who is a genius. But then wild card! You didn’t know you’re gonna get Jennifer Coolidge?”
Momoa, star of Aquaman, echoed Black’s sentiment. “I think everyone needs to escape a little bit right now,” he told THR. “It’s nice to sit back and have a really fun adventure and giggle and laugh.” He joked about working with Black: “I never want to do another film [with him]. It was absolutely shit. He’s a fake, he’s a fraud … No, I mean he’s beyond what you want him to be.”
When asked what he would promise to Minecraft fans about this movie, Momoa said he hopes the opportunity for another movie could come up: “We won’t let you down. We worked our ass off for you, and I think we brought the world to life. I think everybody’s gonna love it. There’s so much more to tell; I just hope the fans will be delighted and let us make more.”
Brooks admitted she isn’t a Minecraft-er. “I try girl,” she said on the carpet. “I am a watcher and participant … I have a five-year-old daughter and I feel like there’s gonna come a time because she’s into Minecraft now — her mommy’s in it!”
“I didn’t grow up playing games and it’s something that I really wish I had,” Brooks confessed. “We played a few things, a snowboarding game and racing game, but I wasn’t introduced to Mario Bros. and all of that. The best thing about this movie is teaching us to bring out our inner child.”
Newcomer Hansen said about landing the role: “I didn’t expect it, but when I first walked on set and I got to read the script, I realized I was gonna be in it. … [The more seasoned cast members] taught me that having fun is really important.”
“It’s gonna make you feel young again,” producer Cale Boyter said about A Minecraft Movie. “I think it’s a beautiful thing to turn your brain off and lose yourself in a world where you can do the things that you can’t do in the real world.”
A Minecraft Movie will be released in theaters on Friday, April 4.
