It’s still unknown whether the film will be a live-action adaptation of the wildly popular world-building game or an animated feature (a la The Lego Movie), so it’s uncertain whether Carell would be providing the lead character’s voice or playing an on-screen role in the film.
According to Variety, which initially reported Carell’s involvement with the project, the Oscar-nominated Foxcatcher actor and star of the long-running television sitcom The Office is in talks for the unidentified starring role in Minecraft, but nothing is official at this point.
No stranger to both live-action and animated features, Carell also voiced the lead character in Universal Pictures’ animated features Despicable Me and Despicable Me 2.
Little is known about the Minecraft movie at this point, but the latest draft of the film’s script was penned by McElhenney and Wonder Woman screenwriter Jason Fuchs. Warner Bros. Pictures acquired the movie rights to the game back in February 2016 from its developer, Mojang.
With more than 106 million copies sold as of June 2016 and more than 40 million unique players interacting with the game each month, Minecraft is considered the best-selling PC game and second-best-selling video game of all time. The game allows players to create virtual, 3D worlds using textured cubes and — if they desire to do so — fight simple creatures and view fellow players’ worlds.
The Minecraft movie is currently scheduled to hit theaters May 25, 2019.
