A lot of the more recent movie adaptations have called attention to themselves by placing the word “the” at the beginning of the film’s title. The Super Mario Bros. Movie, The Angry Birds Movie, and even The Emoji Movie have done that. A Minecraft Movie is bucking that trend for a specific reason, according to Mojang Studios’ Torfi Frans Olafsson and director Jared Hess in a recently released behind-the-scenes video.
Olafsson–who serves as Mojang’s creative director of entertainment–said, “Minecraft is full of opportunities for adventures. Each person’s journey is different.” Harris added, “When we were developing this into a film, we just thought ‘Let’s bring our fun story.’ It’s very intentional that this movie is called A Minecraft Movie, as opposed to The Minecraft Movie.”
In the video, Jason Momoa provides some background info about his character, Garrett “The Garbage Man” Garrison. Garrett’s backstory is that he was once a champion arcade player as a teenager in the ’80s and ’90s, and he’s never been able to let go of that brief brush with fame even after it left him behind. The promo doesn’t reveal many details about the film’s other leading character, including Steve (Jack Black), Henry (Sebastian Eugene Hansen), Natalie (Emma Myers), and Dawn (Danielle Brooks). But it does suggest that all of them have a need for the creative outlet that the world of Minecraft can give them.