“Minecraft” will go head to head against two massive films in May of 2019: Disney’s “Star Wars: Episode IX” and Marvel’s “Avengers: Infinity War — Part II.”
Warner Bros. acquired film rights to the video game franchise from Swedish developer Mojang AB in February of 2014. Roy Lee (“Lego Movie”) will produce through his Vertigo Entertainment production company along with Jill Messick (“Mean Girls”).
Director Shawn Levy, and writers Kieran Mulroney and Michele Mulroney were initially attached to the project. The trio departed in December of 2014 after their concept didn’t fit the video game developers’ vision.
The game, which debuted in 2009, allows players to create their own avatars and build an environment using textured cubes in a 3D world as they battle nocturnal monsters. Multiple gameplay modes are available, including survival mode, creative mode and adventure mode.
“Angry Birds” is the most recent mobile game to get the movie treatment, with “Candy Crush” and “Fruit Ninja” films in the works.
With Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them coming up, J.K. Rowling has revealed the origins of the American wizarding school Ilvermorny.
Pottermore has released a new installment of the ‘Magic in North America’ series, which introduces the new story by J.K. Rowling all about Ilvermorny:
In the video, we learn that Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was founded by a young Irish girl named Isolt Sayre, with a unique stolen wand.
And there’s much more on Pottermore! Not only is there an Ilvermorny sorting quiz, but a lengthy story by J.K. Rowling reveals that the American school was founded in the seventeenth century, and that it’s located on top of Mount Greylock in Massachusetts.
As a young girl, Isolt was kidnapped by her aunt Gormlaith Gaunt (yes, that Gaunt!), a “fanatical pure-blood” who was revealed to have killed Isolt’s parents.
Isolt, a descendant of Salazar Slytherin, wasn’t allowed to go to Hogwarts. Once an adult, Isolt disguised herself as a man and escaped to America. From there, the tale really begins to take shape; we learn about how she came up with the four house symbols (particularly the Horned Serpent), and how she eventually fell in love.
The tale also reveals how new students are sorted! Rowling explains how they’re taken to the entrance hall and one-by-one called to stand by the ‘Gordian Knot,’ to wait for one of the four house symbols to claim them.
“If the Horned Serpent wants the student, the crystal set into its forehead will light up. If the Wampus wants the student, it roars. The Thunderbird signifies its approval by beating its wings, and the Pukwudgie will raise its arrow into the air,” Rowling writes.
Further, we learn more about what the four Houses represent: “It is sometimes said of the Ilvermorny houses that they represent the whole witch or wizard: the mind is represented by Horned Serpent; the body, Wampus; the heart, Pukwudgie and the soul, Thunderbird. Others say that Horned Serpent favours scholars, Wampus, warriors, Pukwudgie, healers and Thunderbird, adventurers.”
While it’s not totally the same as Hogwarts, we can definitely see the similarities (Horned Serpent = Ravenclaw, Wampus = Gryffindor, Pukwudgie = Hufflepuff and Thunderbird = Slytherin), though the correlation isn’t absolute. It makes sense for them to be so similar though, considering that Isolt grew up hearing stories about Hogwarts, and always wished to go there herself.
Most excitingly, you’re also able to get sorted into a House! Take the quiz and tell us what you got!
The hyper-popular Minecraft game franchise is coming to the big screen in 2019: The movie will be competing with the Star Wars and Avengers finales!
Warner Bros. plans for a Minecraft movie just got a little more specific: Via Variety, we now have an official release date!
Minecraft: The Movie (or whatever they’re calling it) will hit theaters on May 25, 2019, meaning that its debut is just three years away.
That’s not a long time in Hollywood years, but it is somewhat of a gamble — we don’t doubt the enduring popularity of Minecraft as a franchise, but since there’s no inherent story in the game to draw crowds, perhaps its target audience will have moved on to bigger and better things by 2019?
Especially considering that the Minecraft movie will end up competing with two massive franchise conclusions (and possibly the biggest films of all time): Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War – Part 2 and Disney’s Star Wars: Episode IX. Yikes.
Nonetheless, we’re curious to see what Warner Bros. will do with the Lego-adjacent block world and characters.
Minecraft is essentially a builder/battler game, giving you endless worlds to populate and construct to your liking. In online multiplayer mode you can engage with battles with friends or strangers, carving out a position of authority in a pixelated alternate reality.
The best version possible of this film would probably take the Lego Movie approach and try to incorporate some of the franchises Minecraft has the rights to. Like, uh… Minions? Okay, never mind.
Minecraft was originally set to be directed by Shawn Levy, from a script by Kieran and Michele Mulroney. They departed the project in 2014, however, and now it’s in the hands of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia‘s’ Rob McElhenney.
Considering the lukewarm reception to the Angry Birds movie, we’ll put this one in the ‘maybe’ column — but hey, we’re sure kids will love it!
It’s the first in a series of mini-games being introduced to all console versions of the game and takes its inspiration from the PC community’s activities.
While Battle Mode is free and comes with three maps, you can pick up additional map packs for £2.39, or fork out for the season pass at £7.99 that includes all four of the map packs that will eventually be released.
You can pick up the first pack today to unlock Temple, Medusa, and Lair maps.
Minecraft Battle Mode is out now for PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U, and PS Vita.
Let’s be honest, by now you and the kids probably own several versions of Minecraft across computers, consoles, and mobile devices. Do you need another one for the Wii U? If you’re a Super Mario fan, absolutely.
1. The retail version is now on store shelves and comes pre-loaded with the Super Mario Mash-Up Pack. Before this month, you could only purchase the Wii U version of Minecraft through the Nintendo eShop. But you can now find Minecraft: Wii U Edition in stores across the country.
2. The controls are a little different. The buttons are switched around, so if you and the kids are used to one console’s layout, be prepared for a few destroyed bricks until you get the hang of it. In tutorial mode, there’s a handy key at the bottom of the screen to help you keep track of what button does what.
3. Minecraft: Wii U Edition makes some use of the GamePad. You can use the GamePad for more than just a separate screen–you can also use the stylus to navigate the inventory, which is a nice feature particular to the Wii U. Other than that, though, there’s not much else you can do with it; you can’t place or destroy bricks with the touchscreen. The Pro controller is also supported.
4. The game also includes a new online Battle Mode feature. Unfortunately, it wasn’t working at the time of this post, but the Wii U Edition also includes a Battle Mode mini-game.
5. The Super Mario Mash-Up Pack is the real reason to pick up another version of Minecraft. Nintendo and Mojang enlisted the help of professional Minecraft builders to create an incredible Mushroom Kingdom unlike any other.
It takes just seconds to load and jump into the world, which is filled with Super Mario themed texture packs, mobs, background music from Super Mario 64, and jaw-dropping creations such as towering Mario statues and castles.
Working warp pipes, airships, and more are all yours to discover throughout the Mushroom Kingdom. My 7-year-old gasped in delight when she discovered just a few of the secrets of the Mario-themed world, from a minecart mini-roller coaster to Bowser’s Castle in the Nether. You’ll even find homages to Super Mario 3 and Super Mario World.
For a close look at the Mario-themed skins and server in action, there’s no better person than Minecraft expert Stampy Cat to walk you through it:
Minecraft: Wii U Edition is now available in stores and online for a suggested retail price of $29.99.
The world of Fallout 4 is a pretty dangerous place. There are radscorpions, raiders, super mutants and the occasional deathclaw.
Surviving in the Wasteland isn’t easy. At it turns out, Minecraft players know something about surviving as well.
Those who have ventured into Mojang’s sandbox know that survival isn’t easy there, either. Players must find food, craft shelter and avoid the dangers of the night, like the oh-so-terrifying creeper, which, in a single explosion, can ruin a day’s worth of hard work. Perhaps then, the worlds of Fallout and Minecraft go together better than one might expect, as this Fallout 4 mod clearly shows.
The mod comes from user mirci33, and they’ve done a great job of recreating Minecraft‘s signature blocky look. It even includes Minecraft enemies like creepers, skeletons and spiders, albeit weird, Fallout versions of the creatures. Even Minecraft mascot Steve makes an appearance, sporting gold or diamond armor. Just as in regular Fallout, players can explore this Minecraft world and battle the realm’s creatures to gain XP.
While it does feature Minecraft enemies and Minecraft‘s visuals, that’s as far as the mod currently goes. Players can’t dig into the Earth to discover precious metals like in real Minecraft, and it doesn’t seem like any Minecraft-style crafting system has been implemented. The description of the mod talks about it as a portal accidentally created by Steve that introduces the horrors of the Wasteland to the world of Minecraft, but it honestly might be the other way around. Creepers are pretty darn terrifying, regardless of what universe in which they are currently residing — especially when they vaguely look like astronauts.
(Photo : mirci33)
This is just one of the latest mods to come from the Fallout 4 community. Recently, mods have taken on an even more important role for an even larger number of gamers, as mod support recently arrived for consoles. Now, console players can download new quests, improve the game’s visuals and gain new weapons and armor, all for free. Might this Minecraft mod make its way to Xbox One? It would be fitting, given that Microsoft owns both Xbox and Minecraft, but something tells us Microsoft might not be too happy to see its property recreated in another game.
You can read more about how to install Fallout 4 mods on consoles here.
