Warner Bros. developing film based on hit video game ‘Minecraft’

On the heels of the massive success of “The Lego Movie,” Warner Bros. is working to erect another block-themed blockbuster, this time based on the popular video game “Minecraft,” which boasts more than 100 million registered users.

The news was broken by Markus “Notch” Persson, the Swedish programmer who originally created the game and founded the company Mojang AB to run it. On Thursday, he wrote on Twitter, “Someone is trying to leak the fact that we’re working with Warner Brothers on a potential Minecraft Movie. I wanted to be the leak!”

“Minecraft” is an open-world game set in an environment that has the blocky look and feel of an 8-bit video game. Players create an avatar, roam freely, gather material, create tools and structures, and survive monsters and other perils.

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The game has proved a remarkable success, recently surpassing 100 million registered users of the PC version alone; it is also available on nearly every other platform, including Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, iOS and Android.

With its freewheeling cuboid setting and potential four-quadrant appeal (to older and younger audiences, male and female), “Minecraft” invites comparisons to “Lego,” which has already grossed more than $187 million domestically since opening three weeks ago. A “Lego” sequel has already been scheduled for 2017.

The similarities certainly haven’t been lost on Warner Bros. Deadline Hollywood reports that Roy Lee, who produced “The Lego Movie,” is shepherding the “Minecraft” movie for the studio along with “Mean Girls” producer Jill Messick.

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