While the sheer magnitude of the video game adaptation’s success came as something of a surprise, this announcement does not. A Minecraft Movie was an undeniable slam dunk for the studio. It still ranks as the highest grossing film of the year domestically at $424 million, with a grand total of $958 million worldwide (per Box Office Mojo). It’s no surprise that Warner Bros. would want to build it all over again, with an almost identical team. Jared Hess will return to direct from a script he’s writing with Chris Galletta, who also helped pen the first film. Returning producers include Mary Parent, Cale Boyter, Roy Lee, Torfi Frans Ólafsson, and Jason Momoa, who also starred in the original. The cast has not been announced as of this writing, but the first film also starred Jack Black, Sebastian Hansen, Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks, and Jennifer Coolidge.
Of course, a decent fraction of those massive ticket sales were likely repeat teen viewers hoping to participate in yet another viral “chicken jockey” moment, which involved standing up and cheering, flinging popcorn and soda all over the floor, and in at least one instance, a real live chicken. While it’s impossible to predict whether or not this phenomenon can actually be repeated, Hess himself was all for it, citing the debauchery as “great” and “hilarious” back in April when the film was in theaters. We’ll see if he can come up with something even crazier in the next two years. Anyone who’s curious about the film but doesn’t want to participate in these extracurricular activities may want to throw a poncho on when sequel time rolls around.
