Jack Black is ready to blow us away once again in another video game adaptation. (Getty/Mojave Studios)
Long-time LGBTQ+ ally, actor and musical legend Jack Black is joining the cast of Minecraft, a film retelling of the hugely popular video game.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie star and “Peaches” singer has been cast as protagonist Steve.
In case you’ve been living in, well, a mine since 2009, we should probably explain that Minecraft is a sandbox game where players exist as blocky, pixellated characters, exploring an apparently infinite map while digging for raw materials and crafting pretty much anything their hearts desire.
Directed by Napoleon Dynamite‘s Jared Hess and produced by a dream team combo of Vertigo, Legendary, Mojang/Microsoft and On the Roam, the adaptation is set to hit the big screen next year.
School of Rock legend Black will star alongside Aquaman lead Jason Momoa, Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks and Sebastian Eugene Hansen.
The movie has reportedly been in development since 2014, but little is known about the plot. However, IMDB published a short synopsis in 2019 that claims it features “a teenage girl and her unlikely group of adventurers”.
It goes on to say that after the malevolent Ender Dragon sets out on a path of destruction, they set out to save their Overworld. Sounds good to us.
Jack Black wants ‘oldies’ to make way for LGBTQ+ rights
Not only is Goosebumps and Jumanji star Black beloved by audiences, he’s also proven to be an LGBTQ+ ally.
In a 2015 interview with HuffPost Live, he offered his inclusive opinion on LGBTQ+ rights when talking about bisexual character Oliver Lawless in his film The D Train.
Referring to the character, Black said: “It’s a good time for civil rights, civil rights coming through.” Then humorously pretending to push through a crowd with his elbows, he exclaimed: “Get out the way oldies, we’re coming through. Equality, now.”
In the same year, in an interview with the Los Angeles Daily News, he stressed the importance of pushing for LGBTQ+ representation.
And the Tenacious D rocker stood up to former Australian prime minster Tony Abbott in an interview with The Independent.
“I think the guy’s living in the stone ages,” Black said when discussing the politician’s controversial takes on LGBTQ+ rights and equal marriage. “He’s not seeing the writing on the wall.
“The movement of the world is headed towards equality for all people, all sexual preferences. Come on, we are all the same in the end… yeah, he sounds like a bit of a nutter.”
According to Deadline, the Minecraft movie is set to enter production soon. For more inclusive gaming news, follow our Facebook page, Gaymeo.