For the past few years, video game adaptations have had a pretty solid run. The Last of Us made waves on television, The Super Mario Bros. Movie redeemed itself decades after its abysmal 1993 predecessor, and the Sonic the Hedgehog series has thrived on screens big and small. Unfortunately, not all of these attempts can be success stories, and it seems like the upcoming Minecraft movie, simply called A Minecraft Movie, will take movie goers back to a time not so long ago. A time when adapting gaming favorites to the big screen was something that Hollywood just couldn’t quite figure out.
At the time of this writing, the Minecraft trailer has been out for a minute, allowing those on the internet to collect themselves, take a deep breath, and let the minds behind it know just how much they dislike it. From the live-action elements to the dialogue to the bizarre casting of Jack Black as Steve, there have been loads of critiques levied against this film that won’t even hit the cinema until next year. For as much of a misfire as it might seem, at least some surface level attempts were made to resemble the iconic source material. By that, I mean the trailer is full of mobs.
Strange live-action characters aside, the inaugural Minecraft trailer showcases a few hyper-realistic animals, monsters, and creatures that have roamed to the games landscapes for ages. Here are all the ones included in some form or another throughout.
Sheep
As our human cast enters the world of Minecraft, they have a lot to take in. Everything is suddenly blocky, vibrant in color, and very much resembles a warped version of the world they know. Of course, that’s just talking about the angular clouds and brick-like ground. Then they come across their first living creature in this odd new world, that being a pink sheep, which bleats in their direction with its opposite-facing eyes, uncanny body proportions, and enlarged teeth.
If you’ve played Minecraft at virtually any point since its 2009 introduction, odds are you’ve stumbled across the odd sheep. These docile farm animals have been an integral part of the game’s DNA nearly since the day it launched. They come in a variety of colors, supply wool to help make vital items like beds, and they can be used as a food source, commonly dropping raw mutton when killed. Hopefully, for the sake of the kids in the audience, A Minecraft Movie won’t depict such a scene.
Piglin
Stepping into the world of Minecraft is daunting for the movie’s human characters. Though we don’t know the circumstances of their arrival yet, their bewilderment and the twinge of fear in their eyes once they arrive indicates they have no reason nor desire to be there. Making the situation worse, they’re quickly shown how hostile this place can be as a group of Piglin arrive with likely evil intentions in their minds, armor on their bodies, and weapons of all kinds in hand.
Not to be confused with pigs or Zombie Pigmen, Piglin are bipedal, human-like pig creatures found in the Nether. Though they’re typically pretty neutral in-game, they’re often found holding weapons, and they’re not afraid to use them if provoked. They can also be found in another variety, the Piglin Brute. Not only are these Piglin far stronger than their contemporaries, but they’re considerably more hostile. Based on the trailer, it seems that the filmmakers are electing to make all Piglin generic evil henchmen.
Ghast
Not only do the Piglin feature pretty prevalently in the first Minecraft trailer, but there are some anomalies about them that fans couldn’t help but notice. As mentioned, all varieties seem equally disgruntled and dangerous, but going a bit further, they’re shown to be traveling outside the Nether for an unknown reason. What’s more, they’re shown attacking by air via makeshift hot air balloons. Only, there aren’t any balloons involved, but rather Ghasts.
Much like the Piglin, Ghasts are residents of the Nether, and like most things there, these creatures are not very nice. They have no qualms about attacking with fireballs, and the fact that they fly can make them a difficult enemy to retaliate against. Strangely, in the film, they seem to be depicted as large, fleshy, jellyfish-like creatures, where in the game, it has been established that they are actually a form of ghost. This change was likely made so they could be used to carry the Piglin around, which is also something not present in Minecraft without mods.
Wolf
It’s no shock that the Minecraft trailer doesn’t shy away from showing off the game’s arguable most beloved neutral mob. In a brief clip, a rectangular dog creature is shown from a side profile howling at the moon. As anyone could likely guess, this is a wolf. They have been a part of the game since 2011, and in that time, they have become adored by Minecraft players everywhere. Why? It’s simple, because who doesn’t want a dog at their side as they explore the unexplored?
Sadly, for those hoping to see more out of wolves in the Minecraft trailer, all we receive is the small snippet confirming that they are in fact in the film. One has to imagine that the feature will include them prominently, possibly with one of the live-action characters domesticating one during their perilous journey. We can only hope that the movie version of the Minecraft wolf doesn’t turn out as uncanny as the Sheep appears to have.
Creeper
When you think of Minecraft, a few associated mental images likely spring to mind. Steve, of course, maybe a pickaxe of some kind, or, if you’re of a certain age and have spent a certain amount of time on the Internet, some problematic YouTube stars. In truth, I think we all know that there is one singular image that has come to define Minecraft more so than any other. That is the green frowning face of the games most famous enemy, the Creeper.
There’s truly no denying the Creeper’s place in Minecraft lore. The explosive mob has been the bane of gamers’ existence since the game’s first year, ruining homes, farms, mines, and so much more with a brief hiss and a boom. The Minecraft trailer simply wouldn’t have been complete without the appearance of one, and it delivered. For a brief moment, we see a very fuzzy-looking Creeper, well, creep up behind Jason Momoa’s character in the middle of the night, likely intending to do what it does best based on Momoa’s terrified expression.
Llama
Toward the end of the Minecraft trailer, we get the big reveal that Jack Black is indeed Steve, blue t-shirt and all. While this may seem like a good point to end the trailer on, those who put it together opted for a different stinger. It focuses on a llama chewing on some grass when an arrow flies out of the sky and sticks into the ground next to it, with a crowd of Piglin then running past. The animal stands there in shock and stops chewing before going back to its meal.
Similarly to sheep, llamas don’t really do a whole lot in Minecraft. They stand around, chew on grass, and are occasionally found on leashes alongside Wandering Traders or grazing freely with a handful of other llamas. If you’re interested, and feel particularly motivated to do so, you can actually domesticate llamas. All you have to do is continually attempt to ride them and be bucked off until they let you stay on. Surely this mechanic won’t be a source of comedy in the movie.
Enderman…maybe?
For the most part, we get a decent look at all of the aforementioned mobs in the Minecraft trailer. Some of them don’t get a lot of time to shine, nor are their designs fully revealed, but they still get even the briefest spotlight. Meanwhile, there’s potentially one more iconic mob hiding in the Minecraft teaser. At the center of the frame, way in the background of the shot with all of the Piglin together in the Nether, there’s a foreboding set of what could be purple eyes.
While this could be a trick of the lights and it’s merely just another Piglin, it could be an Enderman. These unsettling mobs are defined by their long, slender silhouette, magical aura, and purple eyes. They’ve been a part of Minecraft for years, walking around ominously picking up blocks, and viciously attacking those who provoke them by hitting them or staring them directly in the face. They are known to appear in the Nether, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility that one does appear in the Minecraft trailer way in the background.
Odds are we’ve only seen but a small sampling of the mobs A Minecraft Movie has to offer so far. We’ll have to see which others made the cut, and if the whole production is as rough as the trailer makes it seem, when the movie arrives on April 4, 2025.
Published: Sep 14, 2024 09:24 am