Minecraft Movie director reveals that Jack Black was 'as method as it gets' while playing Steve as he 'got obsessed with searching for lapis lazuli' during filming breaks

Jack Black with mining gear. — (Image credit: Warner Bros)

I feel like every time I hear something new about the Minecraft Movie, it surprises me, but one thing that definitely hasn't is the fact that Jack Black got so absorbed in his role as Steve that he went on a lapis lazuli rampage.

According to the film's director, Jared Hess (via IGN), Jack Black was "as method as it gets." Instead of sending dead spiders to his coworkers, Black decided to immerse himself in Minecraft at every spare moment.

"He was in his trailer anytime he had a break; he was just slaying it in the Overworld,” Hess says. "[The producer and Minecraft senior director Torfi Frans Olafsson] put together a special server just for the crew. Jack got obsessed with searching for lapis lazuli, as he calls it. I mean, every day, it was like, I'd pop in there to go over the scene in the morning, and he would be dressed as Steve playing the game. It was kind of a surreal thing to behold."

Lapis lazuli used to be classified as a rare ore pre-1.17’s Caves and Cliffs update, which changed the ore distribution. Now, the resource is classified as uncommon and can be found at levels -64 to 64, but is most easily found on layer -1. Jack, if you're reading this, try strip mining around there.

"He's like an empty page you write your story on,” Frans Olafsson says. “But that was also an opportunity. So casting Jack Black as Steve, maybe you hadn't imagined Jack Black as Steve, but this is the Steve who is Jack Black, if you know what I mean. Because I'm Steve, and you're Steve, and Jared's Steve, and everybody has been Steve, and this one is the Jack Black Steve. For him, we felt that he should have the joy, curiosity, fun, and humor that we have seen in the Minecraft community over the years, like through YouTube videos and all of their creations.”

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Elie is a news writer with an unhealthy love of horror games—even though their greatest fear is being chased. When they're not screaming or hiding, there's a good chance you'll find them testing their metal in metroidvanias or just admiring their Pokemon TCG collection. Elie has previously worked at TechRadar Gaming as a staff writer and studied at JOMEC in International Journalism and Documentaries – spending their free time filming short docs about Smash Bros. or any indie game that crossed their path.