Peter Sollett has been brought on to write and direct Warner Bros.’ long-anticipated film adaptation of the popular video game “Minecraft.”
The pic will be produced by Vertigo’s Roy Lee and Jon Berg. Jill Messick, who died last February, is also still credited as a producer. The video game developer that released the game, Mojang, is also on board as a producer. Jon Spaihts will executive produce.
Based on the globally popular video game, the story follows a teenage girl and her unlikely group of adventurers who, after the malevolent Ender Dragon sets out on a path of destruction, must save their beautiful, blocky Overworld.
The studio has worked hard over the years to launch this franchise ever since it landed the highly coveted rights in 2014. Various talent has circled the project, including Shawn Levy and Rob McElhenney, who were both previously on board to direct, as well as Steve Carell, who circled a role in the film, but scheduling forced both parties to depart talks and the film was put back in the development cycle. Still, the studio sees “Minecraft” as a brand that sells at the global level and recognizes the potential it has as another potential franchise to add to its library.
For Sollett, the film marks his biggest studio movie to date, having previously worked on mid-range budget movies like “Freeheld” and “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist.” Sollett is best known for his critically acclaimed film “Raising Victor Vargas.”
He is repped by CAA.
Mandatory Credit: Photo by Riccardo De Luca/AP/REX/Shutterstock (6703807d) Peter Sollett Director Peter Sollett poses for photographers during the photo call of his movie Freeheld, at Rome’s Film Festival, in Rome Italy Rome FF Freeheld, Rome, Italy