Summary
In case you missed it or maybe buried it deep in the recess of your mind,A Minecraft Movie is set to release in theaters next month on April 4. Whenthe Jack Black-led movie does release, it will be the next step inXboxandMicrosoft’songoing attempt at taking its properties beyond the console space and into movies and TV shows.
Speaking to Variety, Phil Spencer shared that “more” adaptations will be on the way, as Microsoft continues to learn from its early attempts at multimedia storytelling.
“We’re learning and growing through this process, which is giving us more confidence that we should do more,” Spencer said. “We learned from doing ‘Halo.’ We learned from doing ‘Fallout.’ So all of these build on themselves.
And obviously we’ll have a couple that miss. But what I’d say to the Xbox community that likes this work is, ‘You’re going to see more, because we’re gaining confidence and we’re learning through this.’”
What those adaptations will ultimately be remains to be seen, though it’s no secret that Xbox has a plethora of IP that it could pull from.
Microsoft’s Current Projections Have Been Mixed
That said, to this point, Microsoft’s attempts in Hollywood have been mixed at best. Last July, it was revealed thatthe live-action Halo series on Paramount had been canceled after just two seasons. The big-budget adaptation ofHalowas particularly divisive among fans and critics,with fans, in particular, taking issue with its respect for canonandMaster Chief.
At the same time,the Fallout TV show on Amazon Prime was nothing short of a success. Critically,it was in line for an astounding 17 Emmy nominations, including for Outstanding Drama. Commercially,it helped generate a massive renaissance for the games, particularly New Vegas.
All that is to say that how A Minecraft Movie performs will be of significant interest. A smash-hit will give Microsoft another success, while a failure will give the company more misses than hits in a short timeframe.
