Even before he lent his dulcet tones to the role of The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s crooning antagonist Bowser, actor Jack Black has been a welcomed presence in literally every project he agrees to, so fans were understandably pumped when reports pointed to him joining another video game adaptation, the long-gestating Minecraft movie. Thankfully, Black appeared to confirm the rumors himself in an amusing new post, and there might be even more good news for Tenacious D fans.
Before we pull out the Pick of Destiny, check out Jack Black’s Instagram post below, which is the most roundabout way of addressing his Minecraft role without flatly confirming it.
In the first place, I have to wonder if the age groups most associated with playing Minecraft are even aware of what …for Dummies books are. Not that the company ever went away, but the age of YouTube DIY videos has probably altered how often people are flocking to such expansive instructions. One could probably spend their entire lifetime solely watching Minecraft gameplay videos.
In any case, Jack Black is an old school (of rock) kinda guy, as is this Tenacious D bandmate Kyle Gass, whose reply in the comment section makes it seem feasible that fans can hold out hopes for an animated reunion between Jables and Rage Kage. In response to Black’s “An actor prepares” caption, Gass shared:
To play devil's advocate — with the devil in question obviously being portrayed by Dave Grohl — Kyle Gass’ response could easily just have been made in jest. Or maybe it was his way of saying he wants to get into the game that Black is immersing himself in, as a show of support for his BFF.
But even though Gass didn’t join Jack Black in Mario as one of Bowser’s underlings, the random anything-can-happen nature of Minecraft in general makes a Tenacious D pairing all the more theoretically likely. Maybe in the movie, Black’s presumed character Steve is in a band, or had a band previously in life. I can’t imagine any of the D’s more illicit tracks would get used, but wouldn’t it be amazing if they got to write the movie’s theme song?
Let’s also not ignore the timing of this Minecraft business coming roughly 7 or 8 months after the duo released the first new Tenacious D songs in 4 years or so, with one of those tracks being a song called “Video Games.” COINCIDENCE? I mean, probably, and Black is known to be an avid gamer, but still. Check out that video below!
Whether or not Kyle Gass is involved, Jack Black is joining a growing cast, which includes Jason Momoa, Danielle Brooks, Sebastian Eugene Hansen, and Wednesday breakout Emma Meyers, who was added just prior to the Kung Fu Panda star. Expect more stars to be revealed as the production continues moving forward.
With Jared Hess as director, Minecraft is set to hit theaters at some point in 2025, but there are plenty of upcoming 2024 movies to keep up with before the Creepers arrive in earnest.
